Born of Regret (Being Rewritten)
by SitaPerne
Summary: Onyx Lauristen is a League Assassin assigned to kill Nykyrian Quiakides, just so she can prove her worth to her boss Kyr, who's trained her since she was fourteen just for this moment. But when Nykyrian and his best friend Syn offer her a way out, she throws everything tied to the League away. Now, Kyr will stop at nothing to make an example out of the two assassins.
1. Chapter One

**Onyx - 14 years old**

 _"Ahaha! You really thought I'd let you back into my home? You worthless whore. Your own father didn't want you. Why would I? Now, get out of my sight before I call the authorities."_

Onyx Lauristen took a deep breath as tears ran down her face. Her mother's words burned in the front of her mind, causing her to want to tear something apart. Her mother had been the one to give her up when she was a child. So why had she expected anything different?

She shook her head, the black curls bouncing around her pale, freckled face. _Move on. She's not worth it._

She sighed softly and wiped the tears from her green eyes, listening to the sound of her boots tapping against the pavement. Though it was still early in the night, she didn't see anybody outside.

Not that it surprised her. Crime was high on this part of Nathea. And if you were caught out after night had fallen, you'd probably be found dead by morning.

The wind blew against her exposed shoulders, causing her to shiver. She was still in training, so her uniform wasn't much. A black tank top, black pants, and combat boots were all she'd been given and it was all she'd wear until she became a true assassin.

Not that she wanted to.

The idea of actually killing someone terrified her. But this was what her mother and father had cursed her to, and if she didn't do it, she would die. So the best she could do was suck it up and go back to the League Academy. If they discovered her absence, she was sure to be punished.

A week after her return, and she was still sore from the beating she'd received. As soon as she'd slipped into the bunk room, she'd been asked where she'd gone and beaten until she answered. When they'd heard about her mothers' response, they'd laughed at her humiliation and forced her back to bed, still bleeding.

Glancing in the mirror, she gently touched a yellowish bruise on her cheek. At least it was finally fading, she thought.

Splashing water onto her face, she almost didn't hear the voices behind her. She froze for a moment, her eyes pinned to the running water.

"Oh! onyx. I didn't realize you were here."

Gritting her teeth, she turned off the water and grabbed her towel, drying the droplets from her skin. "Sure you didn't, Draven," she said, turning to face him.

Three years older than her, he stood a whole foot taller than her five foot. He wasn't ugly. Far from it. Though he still had a slightly boyish face, his tawny skin was an interesting combination with his light blue eyes and brown hair. It was obvious he'd grow to be very handsome.

And yet those good looks didn't work on her. Though she was young, she knew what a snake he was and it made her sick.

He grinned at her, an evil glint in his eyes. "You're right. Only I was hoping you'd be naked. It would've made this encounter much more interesting."

Onyx shook her head. "You're a pig."

"Only around you."

She shivered. Gods, she needed to get out of there. Pushing past him, se made her way for the door. "Good day, Draven."

A hand wrapping around her wrist stopped her.

She turned and glared at him as he smiled. "Now where do you think you're going, little gem?"

"Anywhere you're not."

He placed a hand over his heart and feigned being hurt. "Oh, you're breaking my heart."

"You don't have a heart."

"Oh, such strong words from a wee little gem."

"Let go of me."

Smirking, he pulled her closer. "I don't think so. There's so much fun we can have here."

It took Onyx a moment to understand his intentions. But when she did, panic ran her blood cold. _No, no no!_ she refused to let that happen. "I'd rather die."

He shrugged. "That can be arranged."

Her eyes widened. Oh, Gods, he didn't care either way. She almost gagged. "Let me go," she said again, this time hardly over a whisper.

His grip tightened on her wrist. "Awe, have I frightened the little gem?"

 _This won't happen._

His free hand moved for the hem of her shirt.

 _This won't happen!_

He slid his hand under it, his fingers grazing her stomach.

Screaming, she raked her nails across his face, tearing the skin of his cheek.

He cried out and released her, causing her to stumble back. He placed his hand to his cheek and hissed as blood stained his fingers. "You bitch."

Before she could react, his hands were on her throat and he back was against the wall.

The two boys that had walked in with him stared at them, eyes wide like they hadn't expected this to happen.

Onyx tried to gasp, but was unable to get any air with his hands tightening around her neck.

Grabbing his wrists, she brought her knee up between his legs as hard as she could.

He gasped and doubled over. Fury taking over, she brought her knee up again, hitting his nose. Blood spurted out onto their clothes and her face as he stumbled back. Ignoring it, she kicked him in the chest, sending him to the ground. He groaned, blood covering his shirt, mouth, and nose.

Onyx panted as she glared at his friends. "Do you want to try as well?"

They shook their heads as the door opened, letting in the one man that made her stomach drop.

Kyr.

Her anger gone, she straightened up. Not that it did any good. Kyr was six-foot-four, practically a giant to her. His hair was cut short, a chestnut brown with red highlights. His eyes, she knew, were a silvery blue. At least, the good one was.

What made her so intimidated by him were three things: he was the Prime Commander of the League, he was much bigger than she, and he had an eye patch where his right eye should have been. That he had earned when he'd lost it to Nykyrian Quiakidies, the only assassin known to put in the Leagues' face and live.

Everyone knew the story, and Kyr didn't hide his hatred for the man.

What was he doing here? Had someone reported the screaming?

Her stomach flipped as she thought of what the scene might look like to him. She would've begun explaining right then and there, but she didn't put it past Kyr to cut out her tongue for speaking without her permission. So she bit the words back.

Kyr looked over all of them, taking in everything without a hint of emotion on his face.

Finally he turned to the two boys. "And what happened here?"

The two glanced at Onyx, who was sure they were going to lie. She looked away, preparing for the beating sure to come.

But to her surprise, they didn't.

"D-Draven attacked her first! He tried to kill her!"

"She was just d-defending herself."

Onyx whipped her head in their direction, eyes wide.

Kyr held his hand up to keep them from continuing before turning his attention to Onyx. "Is this true?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes, sir."

He watched her for a moment before dismissing the two boys. "Take your friend to the infirmary."

They nodded and grabbed Draven, who groaned as he dragged out of the bathroom.

Onyx tensed, almost positive she was still going to be punished. The majority of the academy were men, and they had no regards for women. She was sure Kyr was no better.

He reached out and it took all of her strength not to flinch. His fingers grazed the bruise on her cheek and slid down to the ones forming on her neck. "You really took down someone that much bigger than you?"

"His size doesn't matter. I don't appreciate his attempt to rape me. Yes, I took him down and I would do it again."

"Mighty words for a child."

Child. She wasn't a child anymore. The child she once was died a week ago. But she nodded. "And I mean every single one, sir."

He nodded and moved towards the door. "Come with me, child. I think it's time you moved ahead in your training."

She hesitated. Move ahead? She was only fourteen. She still couldn't kill someone. And she couldn't bunk with the older men. They would kill her.

Gulping, she looked up at him. "May I ask you something, sir?"

"Speak."

"Who will see to my training?"

"I will."

She felt relieved and worried at the same time. Maybe he wasn't as ruthless as everyone said he was. Maybe he just wanted to seem intimidating. Nodding, she followed him. "That's a huge honor, sir."

"It is. And don't you forget that."

"Yes, sir."

He led her from the bunk room into the hall before he turned to face her, causing her to freeze.

"Understand, though, that I will not go easy on you. Training underneath me is a privilege and I expect you to work hard for it. If not, I'll toss you back in there with Draven."

Her face paled. He _was_ just as ruthless as they said.

She nodded quickly. "Understood, sir."

She was so dead.


	2. Chapter Two

**Onyx - 19 years old**

Onyx held her side, blood seeping through her fingers as she leaned against the wall outside Kyr's room. If she'd been able to go straight to a doctor, she'd probably feel much better.

Unfortunately, that wasn't an option with Kyr.

She waited for the door to open as she heard movement inside. Kyr definitely hadn't been expecting a visitor so soon. Whether he was alone or not was unclear.

She shook her head. If he wasn't, it didn't matter. He'd send the person out, she was sure.

The door finally slid open, Kyr looking more than annoyed. Not that she cared at this point. No, she didn't want to be beat, but he had said that as soon as her mission had been carried out, that she was to return straight to him.

When he saw her, he stepped aside, allowing her in.

She glanced at his bed, a little surprised to find it empty. So if he wasn't screwing someone, what had he been doing?

The pain in her side stole her from her thoughts as she hissed.

Kyr stole a glance as he walked past her. "Nasty son-of-a-bitch, isn't he?"

"He was."

"Past tense...how I do love the sound of it."

"Did you expect any less, sir?"

"From you? No."

She nodded. "May I see the doctor now, sir?"

He shook his head and motioned for her to follow him. She bit back a groan and followed him to his bathroom, which was as big and elegant as it had always been.

How she wished she'd had this luxury as a child.

Then again, had she had this kind of luxury, she wouldn't be here right now.

She quickly pushed the thoughts away as he ordered her to sit on the edge of the bath. "And take off the coat and shirt. They'll get in the way."

She nodded and did as she was told, setting her trench coat and tank top on the sink. She glanced down at her side, wincing at the large gash in her skin. _That's gonna scar..._

Not that she wasn't used to it. She had more scars than she could count, and she was earning more and more every day.

She watched as Kyr grabbed some supplies and moved towards her. If he were a stranger, she'd have been moved by his actions. However, she knew the reasons why he was doing it. If she didn't die during a mission, than she had to be alive and well to carry out the next one. She knew if she did die on a mission, he would just replace her.

As of right now, she couldn't afford that. She had one last person to pay a visit to before she died. And that time had yet to come.

She watched as Kyr stitched up the wound, doing her best not to flinch as the needle pierced the skin. She'd gone through this enough times to not cry or anything, but that didn't mean it hurt any less.

The two of them were silent, Onyx pondering why Kyr would want her there. It was rare when he did, but he always wanted something.

One reason she speculated was something she hadn't done and didn't plan on doing.

Going to bed with a man who'd been a teacher to her felt wrong. The fear of him still lingered, and after a bad relationship with her ex, Galen, she had no intention of getting involved with a man for a long time.

If he _did_ want her in bed, she'd at least have a good excuse to decline.

Though he would probably just tell her to suck it up.

She gritted her teeth. No, that wouldn't happen. She wouldn't let it and he knew it.

When he finished up, he put everything up and let her slip her shirt back on.

 _Here it comes..._ "I'm in pain, but nothing I can't handle, sir."

"Good, because I have a new job for you."

She stared at him. "So soon, sir?"

"Can you not handle it?"

Onyx shook her head and stood, grabbing her coat. "I can, sir."

"That's what I thought." He left the bathroom, leading her to the control room as she shrugged the coat on. "We have a general location on Nykyrian Quiakides."

She froze. She knew where this was going. "Where would that be, sir?"

"Tondaria. An informant of mine spotted him leaving a ship. I'd like for you to go after him."

She was hesitant. Every assassin he'd sent after Nykyrian had been killed. If she found him, she wouldn't live long enough to know what weapon would end her life.

She took a deep breath. "With all due respect, sir, my blasters need to be charged." _And if I don't sleep soon, I'm going to go insane._

This past mission, she'd been forced to stay up all night for almost a week just to make sure she didn't lose the target, especially since he was known for making quick escapes. Her exhaustion was what had led to her mistake, which caused the new wound in her side.

Kyr looked at her, annoyance once again visible. But he wasn't dumb. He knew that if he wanted Nykyrian dead, she had to have everything charged and ready to go. "Very well. Hand me your blasters."

She handed them over without hesitation. "Rest, but don't leave my room. I want to wake you as soon as I feel you've had enough time."

She nodded slowly. "Understood, sir."

"And by all means, take the bed. I won't be needing it."

She hesitated before nodding. "You won't disturb me, will you, sir?"

There was a look on his face as he looked her up and down, which made her wonder if, for a moment, he'd finally grown tired of her turning him down. But he brought his gaze back to her face and shook his head. "I have business to attend to." He smirked. "But the day will come, I promise you." He waved his hand, dismissing her.

Relieved, she left the room, exhaustion taking over. Falling onto the bed, she ignored the smell of him on the sheets and pillows. She wouldn't be here long. But she just needed a little sleep.

"Wake up, Lauristen."

Onyx opened her eyes as Kyr's voice tore through her dreamless sleep. She didn't want to be awake. She wanted to drift away again and pretend that this world didn't exist.

But that wasn't possible. So she'd have to do what she always did: suck it up.

Yawning, she sat up and stretched, looking up at Kyr. "Yes, sir?"

"You're leaving."

She nodded and stood, taking her now charged blasters as he handed them to her. "A ship is waiting for you. Find Eris and leave quickly. I want this mission over with fast."

"Yes sir."

"Do not disappoint me. Go."

She gave a quick nod and left the room.

Out in the hall, she stretched her arms over her head and yawned. Her life sucked...

Walking down the hall, she spotted Draven, leaning against the wall and bragging about his most recent kill to some friends.

 _Just keep walking,_ she told herself.

But as soon as she neared them, he stopped talking and looked at her. "Well, look at that. Kyr's little gem. Whatcha doing away from him? Did he finally toss you out of his bed?"

She may not be sleeping with him, but that didn't mean she couldn't play on it. "At least he's getting some."

"I get laid easily."

"Like you did five years ago?"

His face reddened. Everyone had heard about her kicking his ass before she'd moved up, and she wasn't about to let him live it down.

He opened his mouth, but she shook her head. "Save it. You can't dig yourself out of that hole." And with that, she walked off, leaving Draven seething. She didn't have time to deal with him.

Entering the hangar, it took her a moment before she found Eris. She walked towards him quietly, staring at the black fighter she'd been assigned.

Eris looked at her and smiled. "On another mission already?"

She nodded. Eris was one of the few people she could tolerate in the League. A handsome young man, with brown and blond hair and light brown eyes, he always seemed excited to see her.

"Who is it this time?"

"Nykyrian Quiakides."

She watched the color drain from his face. "Are you sure you're gonna make it back?"

"I'm gonna do my best to."

He nodded and pulled her into a quick hug. "I hope you do. I'd be boring without you."

She nodded and patted him on the back. "Good to know."

She moved away from him and climbed into the ship, strapping herself in and waited for clearance. Once she was given the okay, she took off.

As she flew, she felt her stomach twist. Something was going to go wrong. And she knew there was no way she could prevent it.

Onyx walked into a bar, choosing a table near the back while avoiding the eyes of those around her. It was always a challenge to make eye contact with anyone in a bar like this. The moment eye contact was made, a fight would begin.

A waitress approached her and she ordered a glass of water, which earned her some strange looks. Sure, she wasn't old enough to drink, but she was old enough to kill. What a strange world they lived in.

The waitress appeared once more, setting the glass down in front of her. She gave a small thank you and paid her with a few coins before taking a sip and looking around. As she expected, there was a lot of "business" going on. Illegal guns being sold, a young girl sitting in an older mans' lap, possibly trying to earn some money. As sad as it was, that kind of thing happened more than she wanted to admit.

But that wasn't her concern, even though it made her sick to her stomach. Her concern at the moment was to find Nykyrian and bring his head back to Kyr.

She sighed. Yeah, right. Like that would actually happen. Nykyrian worked under Nemesis, leader of The Sentella and rumored to tear the hearts out of men and feed it to them. If Nykyrian disappeared, she had no doubt that Nemesis would seek even more vengeance on the League.

She bit her lower lip and rested her forehead on her arms. Why was she so worried anyway? Kyr had already lost too many assassins trying to get rid of Nykyrian, so he was either trying to get rid of her or he honestly thought she would be the one that ended his life.

Either way, one of them was going to die. There was no way around that. She was just stalling the inevitable.

She froze. And if she stalled for too long, Nykyrian would leave the planet and she would lose his location. Kyr would kill her if that happened.

Feeling more annoyed at the situation than afraid, she stood, placing a tip on the table before she made her way for the door. She needed to get this problem out of the way before it drove her into the ground.

Almost at the door, she heard a few catcalls come her way. She pushed them out of her thoughts. They were drunken idiots. If they had been paying attention at all, they would've seen the slight markings of the League tattoo that occupied her left forearm and wrist as she'd drank.

She frowned. Then again, if they were that drunk, their vision would be too blurred for them to even realize she was from the League. With her guns on her hips, they'd probably think that she was some kind of bounty hunter.

Oh well. Let them think what they wanted to. If it came down to it, Onyx would just shoot one as a warning to the others.

Pushing the door open, she stepped out onto the sidewalk, ignoring some of the chatter of those hurrying home. She needed to find that damned assassin before-

Something sliced through the air by her head, cutting through her cheek and embedding itself into the wall behind her.

Cursing, she shot off towards the left, making her way towards an alley. The worst place to hide, but the best place to ambush someone. Whoever had thrown the knife knew who she was and was bound to finish the job.

Jumping behind a dumpster, she ducked down and pulled one of her blasters out, switching it from stun to kill. This was _not_ what she needed tonight!

After a few moments of agonizing silence, she was almost positive that she hadn't been followed when a movement of air behind her caught her attention. Turning, she caught the assassins' arm just before the blade in his hand buried itself into her neck. She grunted with the effort it took to keep it at bay. Whoever this man was, he was strong. Bringing her leg up, she kicked him in the stomach, putting some distance between them. Standing up, she moved away from the dumpster, aiming her blaster at him.

He was tall, six-five or six-six was her best guess. She cursed her heart for a moment. She'd only grown three more inches and she was sure she wasn't going to grow anymore, which really put her at a disadvantage with an attacker like this. Glaring, she took in the white blonde hair and opaque glasses that covered his-

 _Shit!_

She'd found her target.

Or, more specifically, her target had found her.

Faster than she thought possible, Nykyrian Quiakides tackled her, taking her to the ground. Before she could move, his blade came down, slicing through her shoulder. She hissed and glared up at him, bringing her blaster up to his temple. _Just one shot..._

He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and snapped it back, causing her to drop the gun with a thud on the ground. She bit her lower lip, refusing to cry out. She wouldn't show him how much pain that move had caused her. If she'd learned anything during her training, it was that you never showed weakness. It only led to death.

And she wouldn't let her life end like this.

She brought her knee into his stomach, but it didn't seemed to faze him. His closed fist found its' way across her cheek, splitting her lip as colors exploded across her vision. _Shake it off and kill him!_ She had to.

She moved to remove the knife from her shoulder, but froze as she heard a blaster click. Looking up at him, she found herself staring into the barrel of his weapon.

And for the first time in her life, she felt true fear.


	3. Chapter Three

Onyx gritted her teeth together and glared at him, her heart pounding in her chest. "Just do it," she growled. If she couldn't bring his head back, she might as well be dead. If he didn't kill her, Kyr would.

She saw his jaw twitch for a second before he pulled the blade away from her. She waited for him to move to kill her, but instead, he pulled the knife out of her shoulder, causing her to gasp, and jerked her up by the arm.

Biting her cheek, she stared at him in stunned silence. Wasn't he going to finish her off?

Tightening his grip, he began pulling her along. Her heart began pounding once more as she pulled against him. She refused to go anywhere with him. She knew about the people that he was associated with and she didn't doubt for a second that he would toss her to Nemesis.

Her heart nearly stopped at the thought.

"Quit squirming."

His accented voice was rough sounding, as if he'd been through enough hell and was tired of dealing with the world. It caused her to pause, which gave him enough time to pull her towards a hangar. Had her throat not been dry, she probably would've gulped.

Entering the hangar, Nykyrian didn't hesitate to make his way towards a sleek black fighter ship. Onyx reached down and pulled one of her knives from her hips.

This was the perfect chance to-

Without a whisper of breath, Nykyrian turned towards her and raised his hand. There was a sharp pain in her neck before darkness consumed her.

When Onyx woke, her first thoughts were that she was inside Kyr's room and that everything she remembered was just a bad dream.

But when a pair of voices reached her ears, she shot up, knowing that that wasn't the case.

Looking around, she noticed she was in a large bedroom. A white comforter wrapped around her body, keeping her from the cold. Her head pounded slightly from having been knocked out by Nykyrian. But why? He had been so damned determined to get her to go with him that he'd been willing to knock her unconscious to get her to cooperate.

Any other person would have probably panicked at that moment. Instead, anger welled up inside her. Damn it, it was her job to kill him. Not the other way around! She didn't have time for these games.

Forcing herself out of bed, she made her way towards the door. A dull pain in her arm stopped her for a moment. Glancing down, she noticed that she was only wearing her tank top and pants, her shoulder wrapped up where Nykyrian stabbed her.

Shock jolted through her as one question floated around her mind.

 _Why?_

Shaking her head, she slowly pushed open the door and poked her head out. The two voices immediately became more distinct, and she instantly recognized Nykyrian's. But the other one was strange to her. She had no idea what they were talking about, though, since they were speaking in another language, one that she wasn't familiar with.

Using the wall as a crutch, she slowly made her way towards them.

At the end of the hall, she froze.

Standing in the immaculate living room was Nykyrian and a man that no other man could do justice to. His hair was a dark brown and pulled back at the nape of his neck. He had black eyes and piercings in his ears and one in his nose. Eyeliner darkened his eyes and made him more threatening than she feared he could be.

Their eyes immediately landed on her and she glared at them. "Where the hell am I?"

"In my home, thanks to this asshole." The man indicated to Nykyrian, narrowing his eyes on him.

Onyx held his gaze for a moment before looking at Nykyrian. "Why?"

He was silent as he looked at her.

She clenched her hands into fists. "If you're going to kill me, then get it over with. If not, let me go."

Still, he was silent. When he spoke, his face betrayed no emotion whatsoever. "Do you really want to go back there?"

Her anger quickly dissipated as her eyes widened. Did she want to go back there? Hell no. But did she really have a choice? If she didn't go back, they would know she was alive and find her.

For a moment, she was quiet. Why did it matter to them if she wanted to go back or not? Nykyrian was lucky to have gotten away. She wouldn't be.

Frowning, she looked away. "What does it matter what I want?"

Nykyrian glanced at his friend, who glared at him. "This isn't our problem. Send her on her way."

Nykyrian shook his head and pointed down the hall. "There's a bathroom on the left. You should go wash up."

She stared at them, her mouth forming a small o. This was the strangest mission she'd ever been on, and she had no idea if it would get any stranger. Nodding slowly, she turned and made her way towards the bathroom, closing herself inside. She leaned against the door and sighed. What was all of this about? She had been positive that he was going to kill her in the alley. Actually, that probably would have been preferred. She was starting to worry about being there.

Shaking it off, she began stripping down before she turned on the water. Doing her best not to irritate the wound in her shoulder, she carefully unwrapped it and stepped into the shower. The water stung as it pelted her skin, but it was a pain she could handle.

Now she just had to think of what to do.

She needed to carry out this mission in order to go back to the academy. But she couldn't attack Nykyrian with his friend around. Fighting him when he was alone was bad enough. She couldn't imagine what it would be like fighting him alongside with his friend. She leaned her head on the wall and closed her eyes. Why had he brought her here, damn it. She wanted to be done with this.

Washing herself up, she turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel off the towel rack. As she was drying, their voices drifted towards her. She stopped as she listened.

"Why do you insist on helping her? She's a League assassin. _League!_ "

"That look in her eyes...Damn it, Syn, The League can't keep doing this to children."

"Helping one won't help all of them."

"But helping one might make a difference."

"Since when do you care? She works for Kyr! If you try to help her, she'll tell them exactly where you are. And then what will you do?"

There was silence for a moment. "Nemesis can take care of her if that happens."

Onyx felt her blood run cold. Oh, Gods, she had to get out of there.

"She had a tracker, Kip. What do you expect me to do about that?"

"Take it out."

"I doubt she'd let that happen."

Everything seemed quiet after that. The man, Syn from what she'd heard, could take out her tracker? Her heart sped up. She actually get away from Kyr and The League? If she didn't have her tracker, they could destroy it and she could run. Kyr would just assume that she was dead... That was what she'd been expecting the second she'd bee assigned this mission, anyway. She could easily make it seem true.

She finished drying off and got dressed, walking back towards the living room.

"There's a look in her eyes that you don't see with a lot of assassins."

Onyx stared at them. "Can you really it it out?"

They turned to her, Syn's eyes seeming darker than before. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the back of the couch. "Yes, actually, I can."

"Do it."

Nykyrian seemed slightly tense as Syn's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"

"I didn't stutter. If you can take this out and free me from The League's hold, I want you to do it."

He gritted his teeth and mumbled something before sighing. "If you're that suicidal, then fine. But don't expect me to take care of you when it's all over with."

Onyx opened her mouth to reply, but Nykyrian held his arm out. "Don't worry about that."

Syn scoffed but turned and made his way past her, towards one of the back rooms. "Give me an hour." And with that, he disappeared.

She stared after him before turning her attention to Nykyrian. "What is all of this for?"

"You're just a kid following orders. But you don't want to. Though you try to hide it, there's a look in your eyes that tells me everything I need to know."

"So why help me?"

He turned away before he answered. "I have my reasons. It's best you don't question them."

She huffed before leaning against the wall. But she couldn't help the excitement that was rushing through her.

She was finally going to be free of Kyr's grasp.

Syn appeared a little over and hour later. Nykyrian was sitting in a chair, typing away at a computer while Onyx lay on the couch, her eyes closed and breathing even. He sneered as he glared at Nykyrian. "I still don't understand why you want to help her."

"Leave it alone, Syn. She made her decision."

Sighing, he reached over the back of the couch and shook her. Jumping, she reached for her blaster, only to realize it wasn't there. Glaring at him, she sat up. "Everything's set up," he said quickly. Her face softened a little as she nodded and stood, stretching her arms over her head. Glancing at Nykyrian, she moved away from the couch and followed Syn as he led her back to the room.

Nykyrian shut off the laptop and set it on the table, standing up and following behind them. He definitely had his reasons for why he was helping her. But he intended to keep those completely to himself. This girl had no reason to know about his past and it would stay that way.

 _Just let Syn help her and then send her on her way._

Yes, that sounded like a plan.


	4. Chapter Four

Onyx sat quietly, staring at the ground beneath her feet as Syn prepared everything.

She couldn't believe that this was really happening. All she'd wanted to do was find a way to escape. To live her life without having to do whatever The League told her to do. To find a way to settle and live her life the way she'd always dreamed of.

Sighing, she glanced at her arm. In a few minutes, her ties with Kyr would be no more. He would assume that she had been killed and wouldn't give her a second thought. What more could she ask for?

Looking up, she watched as Syn made his way over to her, looking slightly annoyed. "You're completely human, correct?"

She raised an eyebrow. What kind of question was that? "Why?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "I have to put you under and I don't need you to die." He mumbled, just loud enough for her to hear, "Not that I would care, but Nykyrian would disembowel me."

Glaring, she nodded. "Yes, I'm one-hundred percent human."

Syn nodded and mumbled once more as he moved away. It was beginning to irritate her how much he seemed to hate her. She didn't know him and he didn't know her, so what reason did he have to treat her so rudely? If his only reason was because she was a League assassin, then she felt like it was pretty dumb, considering she openly admitted to them that she wanted out and she was letting him take her tracker out.

She sighed. What did it matter? It wasn't like she was going to be staying around them. Once the tracker was out, she was gone.

Syn made a noise that caught her attention. Looking at him, he motioned towards her. Standing, she made her way to him, her heart pounding a million miles in her chest. _This is it..._

And without hesitation or a second thought, she laid on the table before Syn injected her with the anesthesia.

Onyx was out for what felt like forever, but when she woke, Syn informed her that it had only been about an hour. Groaning, she tried sitting up, only to be hit with a wave of dizziness. Laying back down, she closed her eyes to clear her head.

"Careful. The effects of the anesthetic are still wearing off," Syn said.

She heard him move beside her and she opened her eyes once more to look at him. "It's out, right?" Had she said that right? Her words sounded strange...almost as if they had been said from far away.

Syn nodded. "And destroyed. I crushed it the moment I got it out of you."

Onyx nodded and sighed.

She was finally free...

No more League. No more Kyr.

Looking at her arm, she made note of the few stitches that now resided in the spot. Finally able to sit up she swung her legs over the table and looked at him. "How long till I can take them out?"

"Seven to ten days. It should start to scar." He looked at her. "I hope that's not a problem." He sounded as if he couldn't care less.

Onyx shrugged. "I don't care. I've got enough to last me a lifetime."

Syn nodded. "I also redid the ones in your side. They were very sloppily done."

She bit back a smile smile. "Thank you."

Nodding once more, he turned away. Looking around, she hopped off the bed and made her way out of the room. Leaning against the wall was Nykyrian, arms folded over his chest and head back. Though it looked like he was staring at the ceiling, she had a feeling his eyes were on her.

For a moment, the two said nothing, eventually causing Onyx to look away, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "Thank you," she said softly. Nykyrian nodded his head as she made her way past him, the feeling of him watching her still very present.

Slipping into the room she woke up in, she took one last look around before grabbing her coat off a chair in the corner and putting her weapons back in their rightful places.

As she slipped out the room, Syn moved past her to the living room, barely even giving her a glance. She watching him for a moment before following him. Nykyrian now occupied the chair, back to typing at his computer.

For a moment, Onyx studied him. It was almost hard for her to believe that he was the man that had killed all the other assassins before her. And though she still wondered why he had chosen to spare her life, she didn't dare ask him. They had done their part and that was more than she'd expected.

As if he could feel her eyes on him, his head moved up and, once again, she was sure he was watching her. Nodding to him, she turned and made her way to the door. She was finally free. Such a strange word to use now...

Reaching for the doorknob, Onyx froze at a strange sound outside the door. It almost sounded like something was buzzing. Stepping back, she gasped as a weight fell upon her, pushing her away from the door. Colliding with the ground, all of the breath was knocked out of her just as the door fell down. Blaster fire erupted, and Onyx barely had time to react before Syn grabbed her arm and rolled with her behind the couch, cursing.

Taking a deep breath, she peeked around the corner as Syn blew his blaster out, only to have Syn grab her wrist. She hissed at the pain and glared at him. "I _knew_ you would bring us trouble. We might as well just-"

"Let go, Syn. Now isn't the time. Get your head out of your ass and deal with the first problem."

Onyx looked past Syn to Nykyrian, gulping a little as Syn mumbled and threw her hand down. Aiming over the couch, he fired and she heard a body hit the floor as a blaster shot made its way over Syn's head."

Turning away from them, she aimed from the side, shooting one in the leg and another in the head. The fight went on for what felt like forever, but may have only been seconds, before it was over. Letting out a sigh of relief, Onyx barely had time to enjoy their small victory before Syn grabbed her and pinned her to the wall.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, she glared down at him, placing her blaster against his chest. "Let go of me, bastard!'

"You led them here, you stupid little-"

Nykyrian placed a hand on Syn's shoulder, silencing him. "She may not have led them here directly. The League has spies all over the place. They could've spotted us and came after me."

Syn narrowed his eyes on his friend before dropping her. She hit the ground with a thud, but held his gaze. Stepping away from them, Nykyrian grabbed his computer and put it up. "We need to move, Syn. Or more may come back."

Slowly standing, Onyx looked away from the two of them, her arm and side throbbing. Syn glared at her once more before heading for his room. "Give me a minute." And with that, he disappeared.

"You're coming, too." She looked up as Nykyrian spoke again, this time facing her. His voice was now cold.

"Why?"

Stepping towards her, he grabbed her, his grip tight. "Because if I find out that this _was_ your fault, I'll have Nemesis take care of you personally for putting us in danger."

Onyx held the fear that welled up inside her and nodded. "Fine."

Coming back out, Syn narrowed his eyes on Nykyrian. "Tell Nemesis to get in line. I want my hand at her first."

"You know what-" She started, but Nykyrain placed a hand over her mouth as Syn's face began to redden from anger.

"That's enough. The two of you shut up and let's go."

Huffing, Onyx pulled his hand away from her mouth and turned away from Syn. "Fine. But one more word from him and I'm-"

Nykyrian looked at her and, though she couldn't see his eyes, she could feel the heat of his glare. Closing her mouth, she glared at Syn with a silent promise.


	5. Chapter Five

Nykyrian led Syn and Onyx to a hangar, glancing back every so often to make sure the two weren't trying to kill each other. He had no reason to believe that she was really a threat to them, but he wanted to keep an eye on her just to be sure.

As he watched her, though, he began to notice her already pale face was paling even more. She slowly started to sway and a few seconds later, her legs buckled. Moving to her side, he quickly caught her and picked her up, wondering what had happened. Syn frowned as he looked her over. It took them a moment to realize that she was bleeding. Lifting her shirt, Syn cursed at the sight of her stitches. It was safe to assume that during their fight, she'd pulled them apart.

For a moment, Nykyrian saw a look pass over his friends' face. Whether it was guilt or irritation, he wasn't entirely sure.

Turning, Syn picked up the pace, as did Nykyrian. The sooner they go her back to their ship, the better.

Entering the hangar, the two quickly made their way to Syn's ship, getting her on and loading themselves up before anyone associated with the League noticed them.

Handing Onyx over to Syn, Nykyrian took his place in the pilots chair while Syn brought her to a room in the back. Starting up the ship, he called back to Syn to warn him before taking off. Once they were out of Tondaria's atmosphere, he set the ship on autopilot and made his way towards the two.

Stepping inside the room, Nykyrian watched as Syn replaced the stitches. And something finally dawned on him: they didn't even know her name or anything else about her. Only that she was an assassin that, once again, was sent by Kyr.

Syn looked up at him at that moment and raised a brow. "If you're worried, don't be. She'll be fine. She didn't lose too much blood."

Nykyrian just nodded and turned away. "Where to?"

"I don't know, Kip. Maybe we should just drop her off on some remote planet and-" Nykyrian turned to face him and Syn immediately knew he was glaring daggers at him. "Or we could take her to the base. Whatever you want to do." Holding his hands up, he walked past him. "I'm going to go drink until I can tolerate the idea of this situation." As he left, he pulled a flask out of his jacket, taking a swig as he walked down the hall.

Taking one last look at Onyx, Nykyrian left the room, closing it off behind him.

Onyx woke hours later, the hum of the ship her only greeting. Slowly, she sat up, placing a hand on her side as she felt the stitches pull. She wasn't entirely sure what happened. All she could remember was walking behind Nykyrian and Syn before passing out.

Sliding out of bed, she made her way for the door, walking through once it slid open. She walked down the hall towards the ship, standing in the entryway for a moment. Nykyrian sat in the pilots chair, typing in what she could only assume were coordinations, but she wasn't entirely sure.

Syn sat in the co-pilots chair, tilting back a flask and taking a sip before leaning back in the chair.

"Where are we going?" she asked a few seconds later.

Syn turned to look at her, but Nykyrian kept his eyes on the screen. "The Sentella base. We can discuss further actions there."

Onyx's stomach dropped. Were they going to toss her to Nemesis and wash their hands of her?

"By the way," Syn said as he spun in his chair. "What is your damn name? I'm tired of referring to you as Kyr's puppet."

Her fingers twitching, Onyx crossed her arms over her chest. "It's Onyx."

"Onyx? That's it?"

"That's all you're going to get."

Syn tsked and took another swig before turning away. "Touchy."

Rolling her eyes, she walked over to the two of them. "Do you guys even have a plan?"

"We're currently formulating one. Again, we'll discuss it at the base."

With a sigh, she moved and leaned against the wall. It was obvious she wasn't going to get a straight answer from them. Sliding down it, she wrapped her arms around her knees, watching the two of them as they spoke in a language that was once again foreign to her.

Suddenly, she felt like the outsider that she truly was. Once again in her life, she was on the outside looking in. She would watch as Syn laughed about something then punched Nykyrian's arm, and though Nykyrian wouldn't flinch, she could tell as this went on that the two of them were amazing friends.

She had to wonder what that was like.

For a majority of her life, she'd been the only one she could rely on. Pulling her knees closer, she rested her head on her arms. She was truly alone.

Onyx woke to the shaking of the ship.

Sitting up quickly, she winced at the pain in her side, placing her hand on it as she looked around. Nykyrian and Syn were sitting in the chairs, slowing the ship down as they arrived at a large station. Her eyes widened as she realized that they had finally arrived at The Sentella's base.

"Ah, so the princess has finally awakened? How was the floor?"

"Piss off," she said, standing up. Nykyrian turned his head to the two of them before sighing irritably. She raised a brow before stepping up behind them. "So this is The Sentella base..." It was definitely a lot bigger than she had imagined.

Syn leaned back in his chair and glanced at her. "Started by Nemesis himself, with the help of Kip and I."

She glanced at him. "Kip?"

He froze for a moment before shrugging. "Just my personal nickname for him."

She nodded slowly and watched as they entered the hangar. Goosebumps rose on her arm and nervousness made her stomach twist into a knot. She wasn't sure what was going to happen, but she was going to be prepared for anything.


	6. Chapter Six

"Sir, I have something to report."

"Speak."

"It's about Miss Lauristen, sir. One of our men called in and reported that he spotted her leaving with Nykyrian Quiakides and Sheridan Belask after a ground of assassins ambushed the apartment. This happened not long after her tracker stopped."

Kyr turned to face the young officer, placing his hands behind his back and clenching them into fists. "Was she struggling?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. It seems like she was going willingly."

Kyr nodded slowly. "I see." Turning away, he focused his attention on a monitor. "You're dismissed."

"Yes, sir." He heard the door close a moment later, and only then did he let out his frustration. Growling, he punched the wall next to him, ignoring the pieces that crumbled away to the floor."

So Onyx was working with Nykyrian now. "That little bitch..." He'd sent her to do one thing. Was that really so hard to do?

Sighing, he stepped away, pursing his lips. He'd get her back for her betrayal. He just had to figure out the best way to do do.

After a minute or two, it hit him.

Onyx had a certain little someone that had left a bad impression on her.

And he was the perfect one to go after her. It would be the last thing she would expect.

Reaching for his link, he looked up the information he needed before putting the call in. It took a moment before someone picked up.

A young man in his late twenties appeared on the screen, looking agitated. A woman behind him looked just as agitated. It was obvious what he'd interrupted, so he decided to make their call brief. "Galen Sirel?"

"Yeah? Who's asking?"

"League Prime Commander Kyr. I'd like to discuss something with you. An ex-girlfriend to be a little more specific."

The woman behind Galen sat up, covering her chest with the blanket. Reaching over, she grabbed the link from Galen's hand. "He doesn't have time for anyone else right now, so if you'll kindly-"

A hand flew across her face, the sound echoing through the link before Galen's face appeared again. His hazel eyes were hard as he spoke. "Who?"

Kyr smirked. "Onyx Lauristen."

Galen ran a hand through his brown hair and glared. The light from a lamp on the nightstand illuminated his face for a moment, revealing a very prominent scar under his right eye. Kyr already knew that Onyx had been the one to give that to him before he'd broken her.

"Why would I want anything to do with her? The bitch is dead to me."

"Well, Mr. Sirel, she's betrayed my trust and I want to show her what it's like to do that. From my understanding, you made her suffer once before. I figure you could do it again."

"What's in it for me?"

"I'll pay you very well. And... you can get revenge for that nasty little scar on your face. How does that sound?"

It took him a few minutes before he finally gave in, but when he looked at Kyr once more, there was an evil glint in his eyes. "I'm in."

Onyx walked slowly behind Syn and Nykryian once they got off the ship, taking in everything she saw. All of the people that worked for The Sentella, the incredible technology that was being used. It was amazing.

And as she walked, there was one ting that really stuck out to her: the people around them moved away as soon as Nykyrian walked by them. It made her wonder what he had done to make them so afraid of him.

Entering a long hallway, Syn looked over his shoulder at her. "You'll have fun with Nemesis. He's not a bad guy when you get to know him." He smirked before Nykyrian elbowed him in the ribs. Then he grunted and glared at his friend. "What the hell?"

"Nemesis isn't gonna do shit to her."

Onyx gulped and looked back between the two of them. "How do you know?" Just hearing his name made most people piss themselves on sight.

"Just trust me on that."

She stared at Nykyrian in disbelief. Trust him? When it came to the scariest monster in the universe, she was supposed to trust him? She looked away. Gods, she was going to die there.

Approaching a room, Nykyrian slid the door open and motioned for her to step inside. She hesitated before doing so. It wasn't a big room. A couple of monitors, a table, and some chairs occupied the room, but nothing else. Turning to the two of them, she frowned. "What am I supposed to do here?"

"Wait," Nykyrian said, and then the door slid shut.

Sighing, she walked around the room, grazing her fingers over the top of the table. it was very well made. Something she hadn't seen used at the League Academy or the League's main base. It really was impressive.

Turning her attention to the monitors, she studied them, wondering they, too, were a much more advanced technology than what the League had. _So this is how they keep you in check..._ If the technology was so much more advanced, it made sense that The Sentella would be able to keep up with the League's every move.

She now understood Kyr's need to bring The Sentella down even more.

Hearing the door, she turned, coming face to face with a helmeted figure. Her heart immediately dropped down to her stomach. His body was covered from head to toe in a battle suit and his entire head was concealed with the helmet he wore. And when he spoke, his voice was manipulated by a voice changer. "Onyx Lauristen. Nineteen. League Assassin." Stepping into the room, he shut the door before approaching her. Reaching up, he grabbed her chin, moving her head from side to side as if he was studying her. She was too scared to move. "Nothing but a child," he said after a moment.

Letting go, he moved away from her. "What made you want to leave The League? Most assassins that go in don't want to come out."

Standing up straighter, she stared at him, refusing to let her fear show anymore. "I never wanted to be there in the first place."

He nodded before turning back to her. "I've thought over my options for you. The biggest one was to just kill you."

She frowned. "But?"

"But, I've come to realize that you may be a great asset to The Sentella."

"Excuse me?"

"I had Syn pull up your record. It's almost as impressive as Nykyrian's. I think having you work for us would be a good punch to Kyr's ego."

Onyx was silent for a while. The thought of digging her freedom into Kyr's face was almost too good to pass up. But... "How do I know you won't just turn around and put a knife into my back?"

"That's just a chance you're going to have to take."

She sighed and, for a moment, looked at anything but him. She didn't want to be under someone else's thumb. However, it seemed like Nykyrian and Syn did anything they wanted. Maybe it was possible she would be allowed to do the same. "I'll consider it," she finally said.

He nodded. "Then you're free to stay until you come to a conclusion. But you can't just lounge around. Either help someone or I'll toss you out myself."

She nodded and he turned, quitting the room. As soon as the door shut, Onyx slid down the wall, her legs finally giving way beneath her. She just had a civil conversation with one of the most terrifying men in the universe. A man that was wanted by just about every government she could think of. A man whose identity was completely unknown to anyone.

And she'd actually survived the encounter.

Things really were looking up.


	7. Chapter Seven

Onyx walked down the hallway quietly, avoiding contact with anyone that moved past her. She understood having to help out in order to stay, but she didn't know anyone. And no one knew her. It would be hard to help around if no one could trust her and vice versa.

A soft sigh escaped her lips. It appeared that she was now at a standstill. Not an uncommon occurrence in her life, but definitely not a welcomed one.

Hearing Nykyrian and Syn's voice, she followed them, freezing outside of a door when she heard other voices. Stepping away, she turned to leave when she heard the door slide open. Glancing over her shoulder, she stared at Nykyrian, tilting her head a little

"Did you need something?'

"Ah...no. Not at the moment. Continue with your business."

"...Nemesis told me he's allowing you to stay on board and that requires you to work. You can join us in here and we can give you something to do."

Raising a brow, she tried to get a good look past him, but wasn't able to do so. Not with the way his was built compared to her. Finally, she shrugged. It was certainly better than nothing. "Alright."

Moving aside, he allowed her to enter before letting the door shut.

The room had now grown silent and all eyes landed on her. Syn she recognized immediately. However, she hadn't met the others sitting around the table.

Nykyrian moved to sit at the opposite end, with Syn to his left. To his right sat a dark-skinned male, who obviously dwarfed everyone else in the room. His black hair was pulled back in tiny braids, and upon further inspection, she realized his eyes were white with red rims. Her breath caught slightly. He was Andarion.

Sitting next to him was another handsome male, with dark auburn hair that came down to his shoulders. His eyes were a gorgeous blue, however his hair seemed to cover the left one. Underneath it, she could just barely make out a vicious scar. Her stomach knotted up at the sight.

Glancing over next to Syn, she was almost taken back by the only other woman in the room. With long black hair and dark eyes and skin, she could've been mistaken for a model. But looking at her build and the fact that she was with The Sentella, it was safe to assume she was anything but.

Nykyrian motioned to the empty seat next to the auburn haired man and, after some hesitation, she slowly sat down. The man immediately smiled and held his hand out. Onyx frowned slightly at the way he moved; it was incredibly graceful. "Hello Miss. Darling Cruel. And before you ask, that is my real name. Parents love, right?"

Raising a brow, she reached out and gently took his hand, giving it a quick shake. "Onyx. I'm sorry to hear that." Did his parents hate him that much? Who named their son 'Darling?'

Pulling away, he pointed behind him. "That there's Dancer. But we usually just call him Hauk."

Glancing behind him, she watched as the Andarion punched him in the arm. Darling hissed and began rubbing it. "Just Hauk, then."

"As in...the Warring Blood clan?"

Hauk grunted. "The one and only."

Nodding slowly, Onyx glanced across to the woman. Holding her hand out, she gave a small smile. "Jayne Erixcour. Glad to see another female around here. The testosterone can be suffocating."

Shaking her hand, Onyx nodded and quickly leaned back in her chair, turning her attention to Syn. He looked at her with a quick glare before turning his attention to Nykyrian. "So what now, boss?"

"We go on as normal. Carry out your plans as if nothing happened."

"And if more assassins attack?"

"You've done this before, Syn. Just take care of them and move on."

"And what about our _friend_ here?" As he spoke, he looked back to Onyx, sneering as he said the word. Glaring back, Onyx held her head up a little higher.

Darling look between the two of them, puzzled. "Awe, Syn, why the hostility towards the young lady?"

"If Nykyrian hasn't told you then it's not important." He mumbled something inaudible to her as the other three looked at Nykyrian.

"What's not important?" Jayne asked, tilting her head.

It was hard to tell what Nykyrian was thinking or feeling, but for some reason, Onyx got the impression that he was glaring daggers at Syn once again. A small sigh escaped his lips before he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "She was a League Assassin sent by Kyr."

Suddenly, the air in the room changed. Any welcoming, even if it had been small, was now gone. Jayne narrowed her eyes on Onyx before growling. "What the hell, Nykyrian?! Are you insane? What the hell possessed you to bring her _here_ of all places?!"

Jumping up, Hauk pulled out his blaster and aimed it at Onyx, who immediately stood up and placed her hand on her own. "What makes you think she won't run back to him?"

Darling then stood and stepped back towards Hauk, his friendly demeanor gone. Taking a few more steps back, Onyx glanced at Syn and Nykyrian. Syn leaned back in his chair, pulling out the same flask as before and taking a huge gulp.

Nykyrian didn't seem at all fazed.

Hearing Hauk's blaster click, she turned her attention back to him. "I left," she finally said, her voice now cold. "Syn took out my tracker earlier. He and Nykyrian can confirm that."

Finally standing, Nykyrian held his hand up. "Put the weapon up before you blow off something important. She's not a threat."

"What makes you so sure, Nyk? Honestly?"

"She has yet to run. When Syn's apartment was attacked, she could've turned on us and didn't. That's enough for now."

Grumbling, Hauk put the blaster away, sitting back down as he crossed his arms over his chest. Darling let out a breath that he'd been holding before walking over to her. Holding his hand out, he gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that. I'm sure you understand."

Shrugging, Onyx moved her hand away from her hip and took his again. "I get it. I wouldn't trust me either if I were in any of your shoes."

Smiling, he held the chair out for her and pushed it in as she sat down. Jayne watched her, her eyes still narrow, but she didn't say anything else. Onyx glared at Syn for a moment, who paid her no mind now that all of that had unfolded.

Sitting back down, Nykyrian pulled up some things on a monitor, all schedules for his friends. Shooting each one over to their rightful owner, he began discussing what he wanted them to do for that day.

As they all spoke, the tension seemed to die down a little, but it was still lingering once everything was done.

"I'm going to go Ritadaria to take care of some League activity we picked up on. Report back to me when you're missions are done with." Standing, he shut off his monitor as everyone else saved theirs. They left quickly after. Syn, Nykyrian, and Onyx were the only ones remaining.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly stood and looked at Nykyrian. "Is there any way I can help you?"

He turned his attention to her before shrugging. "Don't get in the way."

She nodded before turning to Syn, who raised a brow at her. She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it after giving it a second thought. Turning, she made her way for the door. "Meet me in the hangar in ten," Nykyrian said from behind her.

Giving him a thumbs-up, she left quickly, putting the sound of Syn's voice far behind her.

The ride to Ritadaria was quiet, but Onyx couldn't complain. She was used to the silence, really. She didn't know what to say anyway, and Nykyrian didn't really seem like the talkative type.

When they arrived and made their way off the ship, however, she did finally speak. "So what exactly are we doing here?"

"According to some sources, a League commander is trying enforcing laws that don't exist and paying people to turn in those that break said laws."

Onyx nodded slowly. "Got it."

Walking beside him, she glanced up at the night sky and wondered what else the League did when no one was looking. Glancing at him, she opened her mouth to ask, but his finger quickly came up to silence her. She gave him a puzzled stare.

As he pulled his hand away, she finally heard it.

Footsteps.

More than just theirs.

Without turning around, she could immediately make out four or five pairs. And when Nykyrian stopped walking, so did she, which caused the others to stop.

The two turned to face their stalkers, coming face to face with more League assassins. Onyx scrunched up her nose. "They're not very good at their job," she said beneath her breath.

She immediately tensed as a blade suddenly flew by her, slicing her cheek. Hissing, she pulled out her blaster, as did Nykyrian. At that moment, all five attacked, two going for her and three going for Nykyrian.

Taking aim, Onyx fired at the closest one to her, but he ducked under her aim and tackled her to the ground, knocking the gun from her hand. Her head hit the ground with a resounding thud and for a moment, she feared she may pass out.

As the assassin pulled his gun out, the second one grabbed her arms, pulling them above her head as the first placed the gun to her temple. Onyx's eyes widened as memories suddenly assaulted her, causing her chest to tighten.

Closing her eyes tightly, she brought knee up between the first assassin's legs. She heard him groan as the gun fell from his hands. Kicking him again, she used her leg to push him off of her as the second cursed. Pulling out a knife, he reared back to attack her with it. Using her free hand, she grabbed his wrist and twisted it, causing him to scream and drop the knife as it cracked. Kicking her legs up, she grabbed hold on his head with her feet and twisted it with a sickening crack. His body immediately went limp, falling over.

Grabbing her gun, Onyx scrambled away from the first and aimed her blaster at him, quickly putting a charge through his head before he could get back up.

Turning, she aimed her blaster towards Nykyrian, but watched as he slit the last ones throat and dropped the body to the ground. Slowly lowering her blaster, she sighed.

Looking at her, he gave a quick nod. "You handle yourself well."

"You should know that it comes with the training."

Nykyrian nodded and the two turned to leave the area when the sound of clapping reached their ears.

Looking over her shoulder, Onyx's eyes widened as she came face to face with the same hazel eyes that had haunted her for the past year.

"Well done, my little gem. You never cease to amaze me." An evil grin crept across Galen's face as he held his arms open. "Now...how about a kiss?"

 **~~So this chapter was a little slow. But I just needed it to lead into the next one and I didn't want to rush it. So here we go :)~~**


	8. Chapter Eight

It took Onyx all the strength she had not to collapse. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming.

Or in the middle of a nightmare.

Shrugging, Galen let his arms fall. "Shame. I was hoping for a warmer welcome."

Gritting her teeth, Onyx pulled out her knife and lunged for him, aiming straight for his throat. Anger seemed to control her actions now. The only thing that she could think about was raking the blade straight through his flesh.

Smirking, Galen side-stepped her, grabbing her outstretched arm. She gasped as he pulled her towards him, wrapping an arm around her waist. Onyx's body reacted instinctively, disgusting her.

A red light suddenly shot between them, just barely missing their faces. Galen looked up and narrowed his eyes on Nykyrian. "Can't you see we're busy?"

"Let go of her, or the next one goes straight between your eyes."

Onyx looked over at Nykyrian, eyes slightly wide. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting him to do, but this certainly wasn't it. Glancing at Galen, she tore her arm away, slashing his arm in the process. He hissed and let go, allowed her to step away from him.

He glared at her, the teasing personality tossed to the side. "So, Kyr was right. You're now stuck up someone else's ass." He looked at his arm before smirking. "No big deal. I get it." Holding his hands up, he took in the two of them. Onyx stood beside Nykyrian, panting heavily. Nykyrian kept his blaster trained on him, his aim never wavering. "Obviously I came unprepared." Letting his arms fall, he smiled at Onyx. "We'll meet again, love. And next time, you won't have your little bodyguard to help you." Raising his arm up, he threw a ball at them, which immediately exploded. Smoke blurred Onyx's vision and she covered her mouth and nose, coughing from the smell.

Nykyrian growled low in his throat and fired through the fog, but the sound echoed against the walls of the buildings surrounding them.

Once the smoke cleared, the two of them were left standing in silence.

Onyx stared at the spot where Galen once stood, her anger quickly subsiding. Kyr was right? Had Kyr sent him? Did that mean Kyr knew?

She felt nauseous. She should have known this would happen.

Maybe, in the back of her mind, she had. But to send Galen after her...that was the worst thing he could've done.

She jumped at the feel of Nykyrian's hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him quickly, her mind trying to separate the past from the present.

"Who was he?"

Shaking her head, she looked away. "A bad memory." Pulling away from him, she began walking. "I'll deal with it later. Let's get this over with."

Later that night, Onyx stood in the bathroom, staring at her reflection as she dabbed at the cut on her cheek. Everything after their encounter with Galen had run pretty smoothly. Her and Nykyrian had received a few more injuries, but nothing more than bruises. She had actually stood back most of the time, watching Nykyrian with awe. For a man that was so large, it was quite impressive how well he moved. Everything still came naturally to him.

She looked down for a moment, holding the wet rag to her face. Would that be her went she got older? Would she be dark and bitter, more so than she was now?

For some reason, the thought didn't sit well with her. She had always thought if she somehow escaped Kyr, she would move to some small planet and live her life as a free citizen. Or even a bounty hunter. Something that didn't involve Kyr and The League.

And yet she was still trapped.

Kyr hadn't stopped hunting Nykyrian. Why had she thought he would do the same for her?

 _Why couldn't he just think of me as dead and let go..._

But she knew the reason. One assassin had already stabbed him in the back and got away with it. If another left without punishment, those that didn't want to be apart of The League would think he was weak and would begin to leave as well. They would begin to believe he wouldn't keep his word about killing them if they tried to escape.

She sighed and set the rag down on the sink, turning out the light as she left the bathroom. There was nothing she could do about it now. Unless she returned to him. And if she did that, she was sure Kyr would kill her.

Sitting down on the bed, she placed her face in her hands. _Damn it!_ It was one thing to hunt her down with assassins. She could handle that. But Galen? This just proved what kind of man Kyr was. He was merciless, ruthless. And he was just proving to her that if she ran, he would find a way to get to her.

 _No._

Standing, she slid on her gloves and left the room, making her way for the training room. Kyr wouldn't use him against her. She would fight until her very last breath before she allowed Galen to take control of her again.

Stepping into the room, Onyx set up her own course, taking a moment to figure out the controls. It wasn't too hard, since the training dummies weren't too different from those at the academy. Only these wouldn't actually try to kill her. The dummy she was setting up was stationary, but would light up wherever she hit it. Depending on how hard she swung, the dummy would give off different colors, indicating if she'd delivered a killing bow or not.

Thinking about Galen and Kyr, she allowed her anger to take over once more before taking it out on said dummy. Red and purple flashed in front of her, giving her some sort satisfaction. But it wouldn't be complete until it was the real thing.

"What's gotten into her?"

Syn appeared beside Nykyrian, who was watching Onyx through the glass on the far side of the wall. From the looks of it, she was damn near murdering the dummy.

"I can give a full answer. She got like this after we ran into someone on Ritadaria."

Syn nodded before shrugging. "Well, if she can keep up with those moves, she might not be that bad to have around."

Nykyrian didn't say anything, but he agreed. To an extent. He knew that if he allowed her emotions to control every little thing she did, she would bring everyone surrounding her down to the ground alongside her.

"Syn, look up any thing you can about her. Past acquaintances or friends. I want to know who Kyr sent after her."

"Whatever you say boss," Syn said, walking off, leaving Nykyrian to question if she really wasn't a threat.

 **~~Sorry for another boring chapter. I promise it'll pick up. Much love!~~**


	9. Chapter Nine

Onyx stood, panting, staring at the now headless dummy. Sweat glistened off her skin and slid down her cheek, stinging the cut. Walking to the back wall, she picked up the head and sighed, closing her eyes. She hadn't meant to break the stupid thing, but she'd been too lost in thought to control herself.

"Don't fret," a voice said from behind her.

She turned to see Nykyrian standing there. Glancing at the head, she held it out to him. "Sorry. I'll pay for a new one."

Taking the head, he tossed it in the trash and shrugged. "Happens more than not."

Nodding, she frowned. "Did you need something?"

Without a word, Nykyrian lunged for her, grabbing her by the throat and pushing her to the ground. She gasped and groaned as her body made contact with the ground, however it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. Grabbing his wrist, she glared up at him. "What the hell?!"

"You need to stand a little more firm."

Her anger shattered as she gave him a puzzled look. "Excuse me?"

"Balance yourself. Be prepared for anything."

"I know this."

"Then show it. Let go of any anger you have and focus."

Onyx gritted her teeth and wrapped her leg around his, throwing him off of her. Standing up, she rubbed her neck. "I am focused. Quit trying to teach me shit I already know."

Standing up, Nykyrian threw off his coat, barely seeming affected by her actions. The flesh on his forearms that wasn't covered revealed several tiny scars, some very prominent against his skin. She stared at them. wondering what had happened to him for there to be so many.

A second later, his body disappeared. She heard the air behind her shift and turned just in time to catch his fist, which hit so hard it sent pain through her arm. Grunting, she tossed it to the side and swung for his chest. Faster than she could keep up with, he caught her arm and spun her, twisting it behind her back. She winces as he slid his finger across her throat. "Dead," he said in her ear.

Releasing her, he took a step back as she spun to face him. She was already trying to catch her breath, while he stood there watching her, as if he hadn't moved an inch. Growling, she darted forward, kicking her leg out for his. Bringing his own up, he kicked her in the chest, sending her sprawling to the ground. Pinning her down, he placed his hand on her side, putting pressure on the wound that still resided there. She cried out as colors exploded through her vision, causing her to close her eyes tightly.

Grabbing her arm, he pulled her up and waited for her to calm down before letting go and stepping away again. "You're leaving yourself open. And weak points need to be protected, especially wounds like that. If you let the enemy know that it hurts, they'll use it against you."

Anger welled up inside her again. "I know that!" she screamed at him. Images once again flash through her mind, adding to the anger she already felt.

Moving forward, Nykyrian gripped her shoulders. She immediately tried to pull away, but his grip tightened. He spoke, his voice tight and cold. "Stop."

Freezing, she glared up at him. She could feel her throat tightening, her heart pounding so fast she feared it would break out of her chest. Her legs felt weak and she was shaking. "If you don't find a way to control yourself, you're going to get yourself and others killed." She looked away, sneering at his words. "You were an assassin not that long ago. Just because you're not anymore doesn't mean you forget about that training. Use it against them."

Onyx didn't say anything and after a moment, Nykyrian let go, moving away from her to grab his coat. Heading for the door, he stopped just before he left. "Keep this up and you're going to die. It's that simple." And with that, he left.

She wrapped her arms around herself, staring at the dummy once more. As her anger dissipated, she began to realize that Nykyrian was right. If she tried to rid herself of Kyr and Galen using her anger towards them, she would surely screw up and leave the world with regrets.

She needed to find a way to focus on keeping control so that the next time she saw either of the, she had a chance to fight.

Turning off the lights, she left the room and dragged herself to her room. Falling onto the bed, it didn't take long before sleep took over.

When she woke in the morning, her body felt heavy. She had to force herself to sit up. which took more out of her than she wished it did. Glancing around, she wondered what time it was before sliding out of bed and making her way for the bathroom. Turning the water on as hot as she could stand it, she stood for what could've been forever, allowing the water to soothe her aching muscles.

Once she stepped out and began drying herself off, her movements seemed to flow a little easier. She reveled in the relief before getting dressed in a battle suit Nykyrian had provided her with and stepped out of her room.

Something rushed up beside her, crashing into her and sending her to the floor. She hissed as her left shoulder hit the wall, sending a sharp pain through it. It seemed like she couldn't catch a break.

She looked up as someone gasped and found Darling standing before her, holding his hand out towards her. Reaching up, she took it and pulled herself up. "You alright there?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

Rubbing her shoulder, she nodded. "I've had worse."

He smiled at her answer, feeling immediately relieved. "I'm sorry about that. I wasn't-"

"Darling!"

His eyes widened before he hid behind Onyx, peaking over her shoulder. Confused, she glanced at him before looking ahead of them.

Hauk stalked towards them, glaring down at them. "Quit hiding behind the girl and come here."

Looking back and forth between them, Onyx stepped to the side, letting Hauk and Darling come face to face.

Well, chest to face. Hauk was just too damn tall.

Laughing nervously, Darling stepped back, holding his hands up. "Come no. It was a harmless prank. I wouldn't really do that to you. You know that?"

Hauk punched Darling in the arm and growled. "Still not funny."

"Uh..."

The two looked over at Onyx, who stood with a confused expression. "I obviously missed something..."

"This shit head threw a grenade into my room."

Her eyes widened as she looked at Darling. "Are you insane?"

His mouth fell open. "It wasn't active!"

Hauk glared before walking past him. "Don't go to sleep tonight," he growled.

Onyx watched him leave before glancing back at Darling. "You have a death wish."

Darling grinned. "Nah. He wouldn't kill me. He hates explosives and I surround myself with them too much."

"Why does he hate them?"

"He had an accident involving his brother when he was little." He looked around. "I really shouldn't talk about it. It's kind of a touchy subject for him."

Onyx nodded slowly. "Got it..."

"Anyway, we're heading for breakfast if you'd like to join us."

Onyx gave a small smile. "That sounds amazing right now." Thinking about it, she couldn't actually remember the last time she'd ate.

Walking down the hall, the two talked about what would've been considered nonsense, and yet from an outsiders point of view, the two looked like they were having the time of their lives. And for the first time in a while, Onyx actually felt welcome.

Entering the room, Darling led Onyx to the table where the others sat, sitting between her and Hauk.

Most of the welcoming air was sucked out fairly quickly. Though Darling joked with her and tried to include her, the others seemed less than thrilled with her presence. Deciding to ignore the cold glare from Jayne and quietness from Syn, she retreated back into herself, focusing on the food in front of her.

A loud beeping sound caught her attention, causing her to look at Nykyrian. He pulled out his comlink and stood, walking away, leaving everyone at the table to stare after him.

A few minutes later, he came back, his body tense. "Suit up. Caillen's in trouble."


	10. Chapter Ten

Everyone shot up around her, causing Onyx to jump a little. Looking between all of them, she frowned. "Who's Caillen?"

"A good friend," Darling replied, his voice suddenly cold. His whole demeanor had changed, actually. He looked like he was ready for a battle.

Standing, Onyx looked to Nykyrian. "I want to help."

Jayne turned and fixed a cool glare on her. "We don't need-"

Holding his hand out, Nykyrian kept his gaze on her. "What can you do to help?"

"I'm a good shot. I can cover all of you."

"How do we know you won't shoot us in the back?" Syn said from beside Nykyrian.

Onyx sighed. "If I'm going to get anyone here to trust me, you have to give me a chance, right?"

Jayne opened her mouth to say something else before Nykyrian cut in. "Alright. Follow Darling. He'll help you get ready."

Onyx gave a short nod before Darling motioned for her to folow. She stayed close behind him as he led her to a small room. Hanging all over the walls were all sorts of weapons, some that she didn't recognize. "What do I take?"

"Anything you think you can handle."

Nodding slowly, she began searching through everything quickly, grabbing some new pistols that trumped her own and a rifle, placing it on her back.

She turned to see Darling staring at her with a raised brow. "Are you sure you can handle _that_?"

"It's not my favorite, but yes."

Shrugging, he tossed her a helmet before grabbing his own and the two of them hurried out.

It wasn't long before they met up with the other inside of the hangar. Nykyrian motioned for everyone to move out, each person boarding their own ship. Turning to Onyx, he tilted his head towards Syn. "Go with him. His ship has two seats."

She hesitated for a moment before nodding, rushing over to Syn, who glared down at her. "What are you doing?"

Nykyrian told me to go with you."

Sighing, he held his han dout, helping her up. "Know how to pilot a ship?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Thn you won't be a total waste..."

Gritting her teeth, she turned away from him and made her way to the co-pilot's chair. She and Syn strapped themselves in before all of them took off. Coordinates appeared on the screen as Nykyrian's voice echoed in their ears. "Bar on Tondaria. Should be too hard to find him using his comlink."

"Understood," they all said, focusing on the mission at hand.

Whn they arrived, it was long before they were running towards the bar. Civillians moved out of their way, gasping as they passed. They were certainly a strange looking group.

Arriving outside, Nykyrian threw open the doors and made his way inside, the others following close behind him.

A circle had formed near the back right corner, men shouting as fists flew up into the air.

Hauk stepped forward with Nykyrian, pushing past the drunken fools as the others followed close behind. People began to protest until they took a good look at the two men moving through them.

Standing in the middle of the circle was a younger man and two soldiers, who looked ready to kill him.

As soon as the young man saw them, his brown eyes lit up. "Hey, Nyk. A little hand?"

Staring at him, Onyx was dumbfounded. The whole thing had sounded a lot more serious than what it looked to be.

Apparently Nykyrian thought so, too. Walking over, he clocked Caillen upside the head, sighing. "This is what you dragged us out for? A bar fight?"

"Uh...well-"

"Hey! Can't you see we're busy?"

Onyx turned her attntion to the two soldiers, who stepped back once Hauk stepped in front of them. "Yeah, and we don't care. Now shoo before we have to break you."

"But...he..."

Grabbing one by the arm, he twisted it with a sickening crack. "I didn't stutter. Next time it'll be your neck."

Letting him go, the two soldiers hurried out, knocking people over as they left.

Onyx let out a small chuckle, turning her attention back to Caillen. With short brown hair and eyes to match, he was quite handsome. She frowned a little. What was it with all of the attractive men?

"So what was it this time, Cai?" Jayne asked as the circle began to disband.

"It wasn't my fault."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"I kind of snuck the senator's daughter here..."

The look on her face said it all. "So they tried to kill you?"

"Nah. Just take me back to the head honcho."

Rolling her eyes, she stepped away and sat down at the empty booth nearby. Hauk and Darling sat to her one side as the others filed in on the other. Caillen looked at Onyx and raised a brow, a smirk spreading across his face. "And who are you?"

"Too young for you," Nykyrian said, grabbing Onyx by the arm. Sitting down, he motioned for her to sit beside him, which she did without hesitation.

Frowning, Caillen leaned down and fot face to face with her. "Is that true?"

"Look, I came to help. But if you don't get out of my face, you're gonna lose a very important body part."

"Fiesty. Got it." Standing up straighter, he slid in beside Darling and leaned back. "So how has my favorite person been?"

Tuning them out, Onyx looked around the bar, finally taking in their surroundings. It wasn't very big, but it was certainly crowded. A lot of the men inside were tough looking, but she had to wonder if that's all it was. A lot of people who seemed tough were actually weak little shits.

She turned at the feel of someone tapping on her arm. Meeting Caillen's eyes, she frowned. "What?"

Smiling, he held a drink out to her. "Here. To make up for my behavior."

She stared at him with a skeptical look.

"What's in it?" Syn asked.

"It's light. She'll be fine."

"Uhm, I'm not allowed-"

Holding a finger up to his lips, he shushed her. "Nobody else has to know that."

Sighing, she finally took it, taking a small sip from it. She took a deep breath as the liquid burned its' way down her throat and scrunched up her nose. Slowly, the burn started setting into her stomach, causing her to shift a little. She couldn't quite decide if she liked it or not.

"So who are you?"

Deciding to drink it anyway, sh took another sip and lookd back up at him. "Onyx."

Tilting her head, he looked at everyone else. "How'd you get involved with people like-" Closing his mouth, her glanced around.

"Like what?" Darling said, a small smile residing on his face.

"I was an assassin," Onyx cut in, doing her best to save him.

Caillen smiled again and rested his chin in his hands. "Ah, that explains it then." Sitting back, he motioned a waitress over. "Drinks are on me!"

Onyx groaned as Nykyrian led her back to her room, watching as she fell onto her bed, shoes and everythng still on her body. He had to admit, he was impressed. He'd never seen someone get drunk that fast before.

Taking his glasses off, he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He still had no idea what they were going to do with her. He really did believe she could prove useful, but he had to find a way to prove that to the others. Otherwise, she would die there.

Placing the glasses back on, he bent down and moved her over, pulling the blanket over her after removing her weapons and placing them beside her. He could already predict that she wouldn't want thm mor than a couple inches away from her.

He watched her for another second or two before finally leaving.

A couple of hours later, a beeping sound woke Onyx from her drunken sleep. Cursing, she pulled her comlink, trying to rea the contact name. Closing her eyes, she answered and mumbled a small hello.

A familiar voice filled her ears, causing her to shoot up. "Having fun, gem?"

"What do you want, Kyr?"

"For you to come back of course."

"No," she said sharply, anger already rising inside of her.

"I figured you would say that. No bother. I have other ways of making you cooperate."

"Like what?"

"Well, I've already got an eye on your new friends."

A harsh laugh erupted from her. "You're delusional. Nykyrian's already taken one eye. I'm sure he could take the other without a problem. Especially with his friends behind him."

Kyr was silent for a moment. "You'll pay for that dearly."

"Fuck you," she growled, hanging up the call before he could say anything else. Placing the link on the nightstand beside her, she ran a hand through her hair, trying to slow her breathing. She would let him have control over her. Him or Galen.

Never again.

 **~~Sorry for the dissapointment about Caillen. I didn't want to actually hurt any of them. Not yet at least. Please bare with me! And thank you for all of the views this has been given. Even the small amount of views and followers mean so much to me! I hope to finish this soon and start the next one, but I'm not gonna rush it. Enjoy!~~**


	11. Chapter Eleven

The next morning, Onyx walked around, almost like a zombie. For one, she had a wicked hangover from the night before, and the call from Kyr hadn't helped her any. Her hair was a little more frizzy than normal and she had light bags under her eyes. It had taken forever to get back to sleep, and when she finally had, she'd dreamt of Kyr a lot more than she wanted to.

Sighing, she wrapped her arms around herself and leaned against the wall. Kyr wouldn't be able to get to them. She knew it. So why did she have such a bad feeling?

Growling, she ran her hand through her hair. She felt like she was going to go crazy. Kyr was making late night phone calls and Galen was after her. What had she done to make her life so miserable?

If only she knew...

"Are you alright?"

Onyx looked up to see Syn standing a few feet away, an eyebrow raised.

For a moment, she was shocked. He actually sounded concerned. "I'll be fine."

He shrugged. "If you say so." He began walking past her. "Oh, Nykyrian wants to see you. Meeting room."

She nodded slowly. "Thanks."

He waved his hand and kept walking, never turning back to her.

Turning away, Onyx made her way to the meeting room, tilting her head a little as she stepped inside. "Did I do something?"

Nykyrian stared down at his tablet and shook his head. "Not at all. I just found something that I figured you'd want to see."

"Why is that?"

"It has to do with your friend Galen."

She narrowed her eyes before walking over to him, looking down at the tablet.

Her eyes widened at the bounty that occupied the screen. "I knew he was bad...but this is...Gods..." Turning away, she wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm surprised it took so long."

"Why is that?"

Onyx shook her head quickly. "It's not something I like to talk about. Just knew that abuse and mutilation are normal for him." She looked back at the tablet. "Just...not on this scale. Or at least, not before."

She sighed. She was never going to get that image out of her head. She was pretty sure she was going to have nightmares, which spoke volumes about her, considering all that she had done.

"We'll go after him. This might not be the last."

Onyx looked at him, her eyes cold. "She wasn't the first."

Nykyrian didn't bother to push her, noticing her hands and legs were shaking, but something told him that she was speaking from something very personal. It would explain her hatred towards the man.

"Would you like to accompany us?"

"I'm not missing the chance to get back at the bastard."

He nodded before closing down the screen and sending a quick message out to everyone. "We'll come up with a plan and find out where he was last seen. With this amount of credits, bounty hunters from all over are going to be looking for him."

Onyx nodded and made her way to the door. "I'm going to go wash up, then. When do you want us back here?"

"Make it about two or three hours. Jayne and Hauk are out right now, but I assume they'll be back around then."

"Alright," she said as the door slid open. Glancing over her shoulder, she gave him a small smile, even though she knew he wouldn't return it. "Thank you, by the way. For everything." And with that, she walked away.

As she walked down the hall, she couldn't help but feel a little excited. She had a whole team to go after Galen, something she never thought would happen. She'd always thought that she was going to be stuck with him running around. But thanks to Nykyrian, that was all changing.

She came to a halt as she thought about that. The whole time she was with Kyr, she had been made to believe that The Sentella was worse than The League. Even though she'd hated The League, she'd still believed him. Especially after hearing all of the stories about Nemesis.

But ever since Nykyrian and Syn helped her, she really hadn't seen a dark side to them. Sure, she believed it was there. But she saw how fiercely they protected their own and just how much they cared for one another.

And Nemesis...even though she believed the stories were true, she had doubt that he did it just to do it. Self-defense made much more sense that this point.

Everything she'd been made to believe had been wrong. Which only fueled her hate for Kyr. While she knew that these people weren't exactly innocent, they were definitely way more upfront than The League and definitely didn't seem to be corrupt like they were.

Her mind wandered back to what Nemesis had told her when she'd first arrived. Perhaps working underneath him wouldn't be so bad after all...

Making her way back to her room, she grabbed one of the battlesuits that Nykyrian had left for her and washed herself up, taking the time to think about a plan. Maybe she wouldn't have a great one, but at least she'd have something to throw in once they all met up.

Once she was done with her shower, she pulled her hair up and made her way to the training room. She wasn't going to let Galen get the best of her this time. She wasn't going to let her anger towards him fuel her actions, and she certainly wasn't going to let anything he said or did get to her. She was going to have the upper hand this time.

Caught up in the moment, it took her a second to realize that her comlink was going off. Taking a deep breath, she picked it up and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hello, Onyx. Did you enjoy our little meeting the other day?"

She didn't say anything, though it was mostly because of how fast her heart was beating.

"Oh, don't be shy. To tell you the truth, I had a lot of fun. I certainly missed seeing your face."

"Don't worry. You'll see it again. And it's going to be the last thing on your mind before I kill you."

"Fiesty. Just like before."

"It's not an empty threat anymore, Galen. I'm not afraid of you anymore."

"We'll see about that, Gem. We'll see."

Onyx opened her mouth to say something but knew it was it worthless when she heard the click on the other end.

Setting the comlink down, she spun and kicked a dummy in the head, watching as it flashed red. Things were finally starting to come to an end, and she wasn't going to miss any of it.

~~Sorry for taking so long to update. Writer's block and life suck ass. But, if I really can, I'm going to actually try and finish this today. While it's not a very long book, it was never meant to be. The next one, however... I have so much planned for that one. Thank you to anyone who's actually stayed and enjoyed the story. It means a lot.~~


	12. Chapter Twelve

Onyx made her way down the hall, her mind on the call. They now had a way to get to Galen, or at least a way to track down where he was. If any of them could trace the call, they would be able to catch him there, if he hadn't already left.

Caught up in her own little world, she didn't notice the person standing in her way before bumping into their back. Stumbling back a little, she looked up to find Jayne staring down at her, her eyes turning cold. The person she was speaking to looked between them before saying goodbye to Jayne and walking past them.

"Don't start in on me," Onyx said quickly, looking away from her. "It was an accident."

"Well, maybe you should start paying attention to where you're going."

Clenching her hands into fists, she glared up at the Hyshian woman. "What is your problem? I haven't done anything for you guys to assume that I'm just gonna turn you into The League or put a knife into your backs. So what is it?"

Crossing her arms over her chest, Jayne held her glare. "Why did you leave The League, huh? Because there's not exactly a clear line there."

"I hated it. Believe it or not but that's it. Kyr was a controlling, corrupt, evil, slimy, no good son-of-a-bitch. I never _wanted_ to be there in the first place. My parents dumped me on my worthless ass and that's how I ended up there. So yeah, I wanted to leave because I couldn't stand it!"

The two stood in silence, Jayne staring at Onyx in surprise while she tried to catch her breath. "I don't trust anyone. So I get it. But I don't have a reason to turn around and stab any of you in the back. Nykyrian and Syn saved me from what would've been a life of torture. I'm more grateful to them for that than anything else right now."

After a few more seconds of silence, Jayne sighed and reached out, patting Onyx on the shoulder. "You're not the only one with a shitty past, okay? All of us do. We're all here because we had to keep an eye on who was behind us because we never knew who was going to do what. Keep your knives and blaster charges out of our backs and we'll do the same. Got it?"

Taking a deep breath, Onyx slowly nodded. Smiling at her, Jayne looked around. "I'd offer you a hug, but I'm not good at that kind of thing. So..how about a handshake, instead?"

Looking up at her, Onyx nodded before taking her outstretched hand. She felt relieved that maybe, just maybe, Jayne would finally start being kinder to her.

"So what had you so distracted?" she asked once they let each other go.

"Nykyrian told you about the meeting?"

"Yeah?"

"It pertains to that."

"Well, I'm heading that way now. You're free to walk with me."

"I was already on my way there."

Jayne nodded and the two made their way to the meeting room, playing twenty questions so that they could get to know each other a little better.

As they talked, Onyx came to realize that the two of them actually had quite a bit in common. Deep down, she was beginning to hope that, maybe someday soon, they could consider one another a friend.

Stepping into the room, she looked at everyone and took the seat beside Darling again. Though everyone had a hard look on their faces, she didn't feel the tension that she had before.

When she sat down, Darling turned and smiled at her, which she returned without hesitation. It seemed, slowly but surely, she was actually making some progress with them.

She looked up at Nykyrian, who pulled up the bounty and shot it over to everyone. "This man killed the daughter of a very powerful man, who wants him dead and brought back to him. All we need to do is locate him and take him out."

Onyx put her hand up, catching his, and everyone else's attention, before he could continue. "I have a way to locate him."

They all stared at her, waiting for what she had to say.

"He made a call to my comlink not that long ago. Ten, twenty minutes ago, maybe? With any luck, if we can trace it, we can trace it back to his location, possibly before he's too far gone for us to find him again."

Nykyrian looked towards Syn. "Think you can trace it?"

Syn scoffed and held his hand out towards her. Pulling it out, she handed it to him and sat back. They all sat in silence for a couple of minutes, watching Syn as he connected the link to a tablet and went to work. It didn't take long before he shot the map of Nathea over to them. Onyx felt her blood run cold as she stared at the red dot.

She knew that neighborhood. Not only that, she knew the house.

 _But why?_

Standing, she took the comlink from Syn and turned away. "I know exactly where that is. I could find it with my eyes closed."

"Why is that?" Darling asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Because that's my childhood home." She turned to Nykyrian. "Let me be a distraction. If he's not at the house, then he's still in the area." She glanced back at the map. "If he's still there, he was there for a reason."

"Do you think he was trying to get under your skin?" Jayne asked.

"It's possible. I still have something left there. Whether he's after that or something else, I don't know. But there's one thing I can say for sure: he's not leaving unless it's in a body bag."

Staring at her, Nykyrian stood and closed down the screens. "We'll position ourselves so that we can keep an eye on the situation. The moment it goes bad, we make our move. No questions asked."

Everyone nodded and stood, making their way past her as they left the room.

Turning, she grabbed Nykyrian by the arm, looking up at him as he turned to her.

"I know you're not doing this for me, but I appreciate that you guys want to take him down, too."

Reaching up, he placed a hand on her shoulder and shrugged. "For you or not, you're going to be there to take him out, and we're gonna be right behind you. In the end, it works in all of our favor."

She nodded before pulling away. "Then let's get this over with."


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Entering the hangar, Onyx began walking towards Syn's ship but stopped as she felt a hand wrap around her wrist. She turned to Nykyrian and frowned, tilting her head. "Yes?"

"You're not on Syn's ship this time."

"Then...who do I ride with?"

"You've got your own ship this time."

Her eyes widened a little before she looked around.

Walking past her, Nykryain approached a large, sleek black fighter ship. Following close behind him, she stared up at it in awe. "I...I can't accept this. It's too much."

"Well, it's too late to say no. Nemesis already put it in your name."

She nodded. "I should thank him, too, then when I get the chance."

"No nodded. He won't crucify you for not saying thank you."

Hesitating, she grabbed the ladder and made her way inside, slowly making her way around. Though it was big on the outside, the inside felt much larger. She was impressed with how much fit inside.

Walking to the pilot's chair, she picked up the helmet that sat in it and put it on, slowly sitting down and starting the ship up. For a second, she heard static from the helmet, and then Nykyrian's voice. "Onyx, you know where we're going, so lead the way."

"Not a problem," she said, shutting the door. She studied the controls for a second before finally getting the ship to move, making her way out of the hangar with the others close behind.

Arriving on Nathea didn't exactly bring back pleasant memories, and walking down the sidewalk towards her home only made Onyx queasy.

She glanced over her shoulder, though she wasn't sure why. The others weren't with her now. Instead, they had taken to the roofs over the buildings around, keeping an eye on her and any suspicious activity.

She took a deep breath as she wrapped the coat Nykyrian had given her around herself. The one thing she'd forgotten in five years was how cold Nathea could get, and it had become pretty obvious that she was cold the moment she stepped foot on the ground. And though the coat was big, it was black, it kept her warm, and it concealed all the weapons she had on her. That would possibly work in her favor once she confronted Galen, if he was still there.

Approaching the building, Onyx hesitated, stopping just in front of the door. She had been pretty content before. Now, she wasn't so sure that she could do this.

Shaking her head, she grabbed the handle and slowly pushed it open, stepping inside and shutting it as quietly as she could.

Standing in the living room, she looked around, taking in the familiar furniture, the spots on the walls where pictures used to hang, and the ugly floral wallpaper her father had insisted on putting up when she was just four.

Slowly, she made her way towards the doorway that led to the kitchen, frowning at the lack of noise. Grabbing her gun, she peeked inside, surprised that there wasn't food or anything set out on the stove or counter.

Turning away, she made her way across the living room, quietly making her way up the stairs.

As she walked down the hall, she kept her ears open but didn't hear anything. In fact, it was a lot quieter than she expected.

Arriving at the first door, she pressed her ear against it, listening for anything that she might at least startle. But she didn't find anything.

Instead of opening it, she moved away, heading for the door all the way at the end. Grabbing the handle, she wasn't entirely sure what she would find. She hadn't seen the room since the last night her mother threw her to The League. She wasn't sure if she'd find all of her old stuffed animals, or if there would be something else occupying the room.

Turning the handle, she pushed it open, catching the attention of the man inside.

Aiming her blaster, she glared at him. "I've gotta say: I'm surprised you bothered to stay so long after making your call."

Putting down the picture he was holding on the dresser, Galen smiled at her. "I knew you'd come looking for me. I figured I'd make it easier for the both of us."

"Where's my mother?"

"Out. Shopping or something. There was a note of the fridge for someone. Didn't really bother to remember everything."

Closing the door, Onyx kept the blaster trained on him.

Raising a brow, he smirked. "Oh, come on. We didn't come here for that kind of fun. Not after what happened."

"As if I'd ever let you touch me again."

Pulling out his own blaster, his smirk grew. "That's what you think." Pointing it in her direction, he didn't hesitate to fire at her. Rolling away, Onyx ducked behind the small bed, shooting back at him.

Hearing glass shatter, she peeked around the leg of the bed to some familiar battlesuits. However, they weren't from the ones she'd hoped they'd be.

Standing, she rushed for the door, gasping as a light from a blaster shot the wall beside her head. Throwing the door open, she ducked down in the bathroom, pressing herself against the wall as the assassins cursed.

Taking a deep breath, she began to wonder where Nykyrian and the others were as she stood, shooting one of the assassins that appeared in the doorway. Shooting the second one, she made her way to the stairs, but didn't quite make it as someone wrapped their hand in her hair.

She cried out as the person yanked her back, pulling them against their body and placing a blaster to her head.

"You're so cute, Onyx. Thinking you could escape from me. Too bad you came alone. I have assassins all over the building now. You'll never be able to outrun me."

Onyx gritted her teeth together before reaching back and firing her blaster. Grunting, Galen grabbed her wrist and twisted it, causing her to cry out again as the blaster fell from her hands. "I'm so glad you were stupid enough to do that."

Taking his own, he spun her around and brought it across her face, sending her to the floor. Growling, she glared up at him, blood sliding down her chin from her now-split lip. Grabbing the railing to the stairs, she went to stand, but came crashing down again as Galen's foot met her stomach. Coughing, she wrapped her arms around herself, unable to move.

He laughed as he stared down at her. "My God, you are pathetic...Though I guess I already knew that, huh?"

Looking up, Onyx spotted her gun not far from the two of them. If only she could distract him long enough to reach it.

As if on cue, blaster fire erupted downstairs. Looking away from her, Galen frowned. Quickly, she stood, rushing for the blaster. Cursing, he spun and shot at her, nailing her in the right shoulder. Gasping, she spun and fell, hitting her head with a sickening crack on the floor. She groaned as he approached her, placing his foot on the blaster shot.

Glaring up at him, she used her left hand to grab his ankle and yanked it forward, causing him to come crashing down beside her. Turning over, she grabbed her blaster, standing up and aiming it at him as she backed up towards her room.

As he sat up, she shot at the floor next to him, panting from the pain her arm was causing her. "Fuck you," she said coldly. "Fuck you and everything you ever did to me." Aiming at his leg, she pulled the trigger, watching as he screamed and grabbed at it. "Fuck you for what you did to that girl. Fuck you for what you ever did to anyone else!"

Aiming at his head, she went to pull the trigger, but misfired as someone grabbed her from behind. Growling, she began kicking her legs, trying to squirm out of the persons grasp. But her struggle quickly ended as something hard came across the back of her head, sending her spiraling into darkness.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

When Onyx woke, it took her a few minutes to really look around, even though doing so made her head throb. Groaning, she went to stand up, but found she wasn't able to with the chains keeping her against the wall. Her blood ran cold as she began pulling on them, trying to loosen them, but knew it wouldn't be stupid to waste the energy. Especially when her wrists began bleeding from the cuts the metal was causing.

Looking around once more, her eyes widened as she finally put together where she was.

She was back in Kyr's possession.

She began pulling again. She'd be damned if she got stuck with him again. She'd actually prefer to lose her hands than stay there.

She froze as the door to the small room slid open, revealing Kyr and Galen, who was currently limping.

Sitting up straight, she glared at them, ignoring the blood that ran down her arms.

Kyr smiled as he approached her, kneeling in front of her and grabbing her chin to force her to look at him. "I'm impressed. You actually thought you could get away from me."

"I'm impressed you can fit all of your vocabulary into one sentence."

She felt the sting of his hand as it made contact with her skin, reopening the cut in her lip. She glared up at him as he stood. "That'll teach you, I'm sure... Or maybe it won't. But that's okay. There's much more where that came from."

"I have friends now, Kyr. Friends that you won't be able to fend off."

"Or so you thought. Last I checked, they weren't even making an effort to come after you."

"You're wrong. They'll help me because he's still alive." She motioned with her chin towards Galen, who sneered at her.

"Actually, I'm not. If they do come for you, you'll be dead and we'll be long gone."

"And once again, you're wrong. Because I'm gonna slit your throat once I get out of here."

Turning to her, he kicked her in the side. She gasped as something cracked, leaving her to try and catch her breath, which caused her even more pain than the kick had.

"Keep talking and see what else happens. Ungrateful bitch."

Panting, she glared up at them as they left. She didn't show it, but she was scared. So much more scared than she had been before.

"We've gotta get her back. She doesn't deserve to be back there." Darling looked at Nykyrian, worry plain as day on his face.

Jayne nodded and looked at him. "I agree."

Syn frowned. "Weren't you against her being here."

"At first. But...her and I had a talk and she's not half bad." She sighed. "I don't think it'd be fair if we just left her in Kyr's hands."

"Plus, it'd be a good slap in the face," Hauk added.

They all watched Nykyrian as she stared at the table. He hadn't been expecting there to be League assassins, but at the same time, he wasn't surprised. They had known that Galen was sent by Kyr to take care of Onyx. In his mind, someone should've been in the house with her, even if they weren't necessarily in the room with her. At least then they would've had a chance to get her out before one of them got her. "She could be dead by now," he finally said. Though he hoped those words weren't true.

"We still have to try," Darling replied.

Syn finally sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I agree, too."

Nykyrian opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the door sliding open. Looking up, all eyes landed on Callen as he entered the room. "I got here as fast as I could. What's all this about?"

"Onyx was taken by a League assassin. We're working up a rescue team. You up for it?"

"Saving a cute girl? Count me in." He slid into the seat beside Darling and looked at them. "So what's the plan?"

Onyx sat against the wall, breathing as shallow as she could. She knew that Kyr had broken a rip, and if she had to take another deep breath, she was probably going to pass out from the pain.

She sighed as she rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes. She'd been so stupid. She should've just shot Galen in the head and left before anything else had happened. Maybe then she would've gotten away with the little injuries that she'd had.

Before she knew it, tears were sliding down her cheeks. She'd been stupid. And doubts were beginning to creep into her mind. The longer she spent there, the more she believed Kyr. Perhaps The Sentella wouldn't come for her. Why would they? She'd only been a temporary bump in their lives. She couldn't imagine that they would actually take the time out of their day now to come find her.

Using the chains, she pulled herself up into a better position, hissing at the pain in her side. She would just have to get out of there on her own.

Looking around, she tried to find something in the nearest vicinity that she could possibly use. But the room was bare, save for her a few other chains. She groaned in frustration, then winced.

She went to move again, but stopped as the sound of footsteps reached her ears. Her heart began to pound as the door slid open, Galen limping inside.

Onyx smirked. "Well, that puts a damper on things now doesn't it?"

He shrugged. "You missed the face. That's all I care about."

"Awe, but now the girl's gonna have to do all of the work, and that's just no fun."

"You know, Onyx, if I wanted a bitch, I would've brought a dog."

"I bet you were up all night trying to come up with that one."

He knelt down and brought his hand across her face, so hard that she got dizzy from it. More blood poured from her lip, which she felt had torn even more just from the force. Turning her head, she spat it out, watching in satisfaction as it hit his cheek.

He wiped it away before reaching forward and tearing open her battlesuit, revealing the black lace bra that covered her breasts. She felt her heart skip a beat as her throat tightened up. He smirked as he ran a hand across the top of her chest.

"Does Kyr know you're in here?" she finally choked out.

He smirked as he looked up at her. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

She laughed. "You don't know Kyr. Because you're right: it won't hurt him. But it's certainly gonna hurt you."

Ignoring her, he leaned forward and placed his lips against her neck, causing her to gag as more tears slid down her cheeks. Memories flashed through her mind, digging home just how helpless she was at that moment.

An explosion suddenly rocked the building as Galen made his way to her collarbone, cursing as he hit his leg on hers. Standing, he glared and pulled out his blaster. "I'm not through with you," he said coldly, making his way to the door.

"Take your dear sweet fucking time," she said after him, watching as the door shut.

Grabbing the chains, she yanked at them. She'd gotten lucky, but there was no telling what was going on, or how long it would take for him to scope out the situation and make his way back to her. And she didn't want to be there when he got back.

Blaster fire sounded outside her door, making her stop. Who was she kidding? It would be better if whoever was out there came into the room and just shot her between the eyes. At least then if Kyr or Galen did anything to her she wouldn't feel it.

Letting go, she allowed her hands to hang there as she watched the door slide up. She looked away before she could see who it was. "If you're gonna kill me, make it quick."

"Not gonna happen, gorgeous."

Her head snapped up at the familiar voice, but the helmet he wore covered his face.

Running over to her, he knelt down in front of her, pulling out a lock pick and going to work on the chains.

She looked up at him. "Caillen, right?"

"The one and only."

"Why are you here?"

"Syn called me for help."

 _Syn?_ She couldn't believe that. But a part of her felt relieved. So they had thought about finding her.

She let her left arm fall to her side as he began working on the right, cursing as he saw how raw her wrists were. "You really messed yourself up, didn't you?"

Onyx nodded and gasped as he picked her up by her right arm. "Sorry," he said quickly before putting an arm under her legs, picking her up and holding her against him.

She quickly shook her and tried to get down. "You won't be able to use your blaster."

"Syn's right outside the door. He can cover us."

She sighed and rested her head against his chest, deciding not to fight back. As they stepped outside, Syn shot at another assassin that ran towards them. "About time you go out of there." Looking at them, he winced. "You look like hell, Lauristen."

She gave him a droll stare. "I feel like it."

Shrugging, he made his way down the hall, Caillen following close behind. Onyx almost felt like laughing. She felt like this was all some big dream and she was just going to wake up in her beg back at the academy.

Suddenly, Caillen stopped, setting her down as blaster fire went past his head. "Leave her here and we'll let you out alive!" she heard Galen shout from down the hall. Frowning, she pulled herself up, looking at Syn and Caillen as they aimed their blasters.

"No," she said, holding her hand out. "He's mine."

The two looked at her as she glanced at Caillen's blaster. "May I borrow that?" He nodded and handed it to her, pulling out another one that he had hidden.

Slowly, she made her way past him, at this point forgetting that her battle suit was so revealing.

Galen stepped out from behind the wall, keeping his blaster aimed at her. "Call your dogs off."

Holding her left arm out, she glanced at them, nodding at them. Hesitantly, they put their arms down.

She looked back at him, her face devoid of emotion as he slowly stepped towards him. "Good. Now you're coming with me and-"

Without hesitating, she aimed her blaster, shooting him in the side. He gasped and doubled over, holding his side. Stepping up to him, she brought her knee up into his face, watching as he hit the ground. Putting her foot on his side, she dug her heel into the wound, glaring down at him. Aiming at his face, she pulled the trigger, not even bothering to blink as blood spattered around him.

Tears began to stream down her face again as she dropped the blaster and fell to the floor.

The last thing she heard was more blaster fire and Syn shouting.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Everyone sat outside of the room that Syn was working in, and though they looked like they didn't care, deep down, they were actually hoping that Onyx woke back up. Though she'd only been around for a short amount of time, they were all beginning to see why Nykyrian had spared her instead of killing her when he had the chance.

While she may have been an assassin before they'd met her, she'd proven to be a pretty good asset to The Sentella, proving even more that she really did have their backs.

After about an hour more, Syn stepped out, looking at Nykyrian, who quickly made his way over to him. Syn motioned towards the door. "She'll be out for a while. But she should be back on her feet pretty soon." She rubbed the back of his neck. "Girl's cold blooded...but she's not a bad ally."

Nykyrian nodded and leaned against the wall. "Take her to her room. We'll let her rest for a while."

Nodding, Syn turned and disappeared into the room once more, emerging with a sleeping Onyx not long after. Nykyrian glanced down, a little surprised by the way she looked. The whole time she'd been around them, all he'd seen was a young girl who was ready to strike out at anyone that got too close to her without question. But in Syn's arms, she almost looked like a broken child. She had at least two bruises on her face, her lip was scabbed over from being split open, and he knew underneath her clothes was another bruise where she'd received the broken rib. It was amazing how fragile someone so strong could look once they'd been kicked down.

Watching Syn take her away, he motioned for everyone else to leave. There was no point in keeping them there when there was nothing else to expect.

He made his way past them, heading for Nemesis' room. He had a few words for her.

As Onyx slept, she dreamt about Galen, about the first time they met, to the year before when he'd dumped her on her ass, all the way up to the night before, where she'd blown a hole in his face. Unfortunately for her, they were memories that were never going to leave her. She would just have to live with that for the rest of her life.

Gasping, she sat up, gripping her side as sweat dripped down her face. Panting, she looked around, her eyes widening at the dark figure in her room. She quickly reached for her blaster before his hand wrapped around her wrist. She looked up at him, gulping. As she stared at him though, the panic began to subside. She knew that helmet.

"Nemesis?"

Letting go of her wrist, he stepped back as she relaxed a little. "Look, if I got anyone hurt, I didn't mean to. I wasn't expecting them to come after me..."

"No one was hurt but you. And I didn't expect them to do anything less. They're pretty loyal when they want to be."

Shifting her weight, she watched him. "But why help me? They weren't afraid to show their dislike for me for a while there. It was only recently that Syn and Jayne seemed to think I wasn't so bad. And Nykyrian...well that's a tough one. I guess he didn't mind me too much. It's hard to tell..." She sighed and looked away. "Sorry...I'm ranting."

Shaking his head, he leaned against the wall. "You've proved yourself to them. That's what convinced them."

Onyx nodded slowly before looking back at him. "Come to kick me out then?"

"Came to see if you were still thinking about joining us."

She bit her lip and looked around the room. It felt nice having people around. But at the same time... "I'll have to get back to you on that. Once I'm actually feeling like I wasn't just pounded into the floor a couple of time."

Nodding, he pushed himself off the wall and made his way to the door. "Let Nykyrian know when you've decided."

Watching him, she held her hand out, remembering something. "Nemesis?" He turned his head towards her. "Thanks for the ship."

Nodding, he left the room, leaving her to watch as the door slid down behind him.

As gently as she could, she laid back down, placing an arm over her head as she stared at the ceiling. She wasn't sure if Kyr was still alive, but she knew for sure that Galen wasn't. And that gave her more satisfaction than any job she'd ever done for Kyr. She smiled right before she started to laugh. It was almost surreal. She felt way to lucky now. She had to wonder if that luck would run out soon.

Onyx finally came out her room two or three days later, able to walk without too much pain for the first time in those days. The bruises on her face were starting to yellow and her lips already felt much better. Her side, however...that was a different story. A large bruise occupied the place where the rib had cracked, but she could at least breathe a little better thanks to the medicine Syn had given her.

Using the wall as a crutch, she made her way down the hall, giving a small smile to anyone that passed by her.

Entering the cafeteria, she glanced around for any familiar faces. At first, she didn't see any of the others, and she began to wonder if they were there for breakfast or not. Turning to leave, she was almost through the door when she heard Darling called her name.

Spinning around, she saw him making his way towards her. She gave him a small smile. "Yes?"

"We've got a seat open. Wanna come join us?"

She looked away for a moment before nodding. Smiling at her, he grabbed her arm and practically dragged her over to where the others sat. Instead of the cool stares she'd received the first time, they actually seemed to welcome her. Even Syn, which shocked the hell out of her.

Scooting her chair in for her, Darling walked away, going to grab her her own plate.

She sighed and glanced at them. Syn smirked. "You still look like hell."

"I still feel like it," she said with a chuckle. "Though the medicine you gave me is helping a good bit. Thank you."

"If you need more, I'm your guy."

"I appreciate it."

Jayne placed her hands under her chin and looked over at her. "So, what do you have planned now?"

Glancing at her, she shrugged, wincing a little at the pain still in her shoulder. "I haven't quite decided. I have a couple of options but...I'm not sure which one I should go with."

Darling returned and placed her plate in front of her. She gave him a quick thank you as Caillen spoke up. "Could always come home with me. My sisters would love you."

"Thank you. But as Nykyrian has said: too young for you."

"Eh, you're still legal. Right?"

Jayne elbowed him in the side. "Ignore him. He doesn't have much of a brain, and the bit that he does have doesn't function properly."

Smiling, she took a couple of bites of food before glancing at Nykyrian. He'd been silent since she'd arrived. Hauk had at least said hi, and he was too busy eating to take an interest in the conversation.

Looking away, she finished the food on her plate and stood. Let looked up at her and frowned. "Where are you going?" Darling asked.

"I just remembered that there's something I need to do. I won't be gone too long. But don't wait for me if something happens."

Leaving the cafeteria, she reached into her shirt and pulled out a necklace. Even though she practically hid it, she'd never taken it off. It was a necklace she'd received from her dad when she was six, and she'd worn it ever since in hopes that he would come find her and take her away. But she knew now that that would never happen.

Entering the hangar, she didn't say anything to anyone as she approached her ship. Starting it up, she left the Sentella base, making her way back to Nathea.

When she arrived, she walked quickly towards her old home, pushing past anyone that got in her way.

Walking up to the door, she knocked on it, listening to the sound of someone shuffling around inside.

A man opened the door and frowned at her. "Who are you?"

"Not important. Is there an Evie...last name possibly Lauristen, here?"

"I'm not gonna tell you until you tell me who you are."

"I'm her daughter. Does that answer suffice?"

He laughed. "I don't believe that. She told me her daughter died when she was six."

Onyx raised a brow. "That's amazing because I'm standing right here."

The man shook his head and went to say something before a female voice rang out. "Who is it?"

"Some broad that says she's your daughter."

Onyx crossed her arms over her chest. "Broad? Oh, that's it." Pushing him back, she made her way inside, walking past him to the kitchen. Standing at the stove was Evie, her face pale and eyes wide. "So, I'm dead, huh, mother?"

"Yes, you are. Completely dead to me."

She shrugged. "Well, that's okay. I won't be here long. And then after today, you'll never have to see me again."

Walking up to her, she reared back and brought her fist across her mother's face, hearing the crack of her nose breaking. "That's for sending me off." Reaching back, she unclasped the necklace and threw it onto the table. "Keep that. If you EVER see dad again, tell him I said he can gladly go fuck himself."

"You bitch. I'm calling the authorities."

"Go right ahead. But if you do, you're gonna regret it. If you think that punch hurt, trust me, I can do a lot worse. That's what happens when you're stuck with The League."

Turning, she made her way to the door, looking back at the man. "She lied to you. Might want to look into that." And with that, she slammed the door behind her, heading back to her ship.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Onyx walked down the hall of The Sentella, searching for Nykyrian. On the way back from Nathea, she'd given some thought to what Kyr had said to her, and she'd finally made up her mind.

Looking up from the floor, she saw Syn and Jayne walked towards her. Picking up the pace, she approached them. "Do you two know where Nykyrian is?"

Jayne pointed behind them. "Last I checked, he was in the training room."

Onyx smiled and past them up. "Thank you," she said over her shoulder as she went that way.

When she entered the training room, she leaned against the wall, arms crossed in front of her chest as she watched Nykyrian. For a second, she actually felt her face heat up at the sight of him. Shaking her head, she waited until he stepped back from the dummy before getting his attention. "I've never seen you without your coat. Or gloves. It's a little strange."

He spun and pulled his blaster on her, causing her to put her hands up. "Friend, remember?"

A small sigh escaped his lips before he put the blaster back on his hip. "My apologies."

She shrugged and made her way over to him. "I'm used to it. I think I'd be more surprised if someone didn't pull a blaster on me."

He nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"Nemesis told me to come find you when I had an answer about joining you guys."

"And?"

"I've decided against it. It's nothing against you guys. But if you haven't noticed, I don't socialize well."

He nodded. "Alright. But we have your back if you ever need it."

She smiled. "I appreciate that."

Turning, she almost walked towards the door before she spun, kicking her leg out.

Reaching up, he grabbed it and flipped her over, pulling a knife out and pinning her to the ground with the blade against her throat. "Too slow."

She blew a strand of hair out of her face and sighed. "I can see that now."

Pulling away, he held his hand out, helping her up as she took it. "It was worth the try," she said with a shrug. "Would I have hit you if you weren't...you?"

He shrugged. "It's possible."

"Well, that's good to know at least."

This time, she did make her way to the door, turning to smile at him. "I'll see you around. Thank you for everything." He nodded and she gently shut the door behind her, making her way towards her room.

On her way there, she couldn't get the image of Nykyrian's hands out of her head. They had been so scared up and mangled that she had to wonder what happened to him. But it wasn't her business, so she hadn't bothered to ask him. She had no reason to pry.

Entering the room, she slid off the battlesuit and grabbed the clothes she'd met them in. Throwing on the tank top and pants, she placed all of her weapons in their rightful places and threw her trench coat on.

She took one last look around the room before sighing. She couldn't lie; she was going to miss the place. But she had other plans now that she was free.

She turned as she heard the door slide open. She frowned a little as Nykyrian approached her. "Did I forget something?" she asked, her brow raised.

He handed her a card, causing her to frown as she took it. "It's for your account. Any money you make or that I send you will go there. Use it how you like."

Her eyes widened a little. "I don't need you to do this."

"Too late," he said, turning to leave.

She sighed. "I'm not saying thank you again. I feel like I've overused those words at this point."

He shrugged. "I don't need it."

She chuckled and looked down at the card, smiling to herself. Yeah, she was going to miss them. But she didn't think she'd stay out of touch with them. Why would she? They'd done so much for her. One day she'd have to pay them back.

But that would come at another time.

Leaving the room, she made her way to the hangar.

Now that she was free, she was going to go buy her first place to live.

Maybe even settle down.

She laughed at the thought.

But just maybe it was possible now. So many things were possible now.

She raised her arms over her head.

She really was free.


	17. Thank you so much!

Oh. My. God. This. Sucked. So. Bad.

I have never, in my life, ever finished a story.

But I feel very satisfied that I was finally able to do that.

So I just wanted to thank anybody and everybody who stayed with me and reads this story. Yeah, it's not the greatest. It's not even all original. But I had a lot of fun bringing my character to life and really getting to explore her. It was also really fun getting to throw her into a universe that I and other's love so much (even if it's not as popular as Kenyon's Dark Hunter series).

So there are (as of now) three more stories that are coming after this. Born of Fear is the next one, which will also explore Onyx and her life as a bounty hunter. I can't give anything away for the next two, though, because those would be total spoilers.

Anyway!

Again, thank you so much for those that are here. I appreciate it so much. I hope you enjoyed the story and I hope you stick around for the next ones.

Have a wonderful day (or night)! - Renee


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